Federal approval of the acquisition of Salt Lake-based Health-Rider Inc. by Logan-based Icon Fitness Corp. will mean layoffs for 114 HealthRider employees, mostly in customer service and telemarketing, it was confirmed Tuesday.
Lynn Benchley, vice president of business development at Icon said the Federal Trade Commission has approved the merger, announced July 9. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.Benchley said the 114 terminations represent about 8 percent of HealthRider's 1,425 employees nationwide. Icon has about 4,300 employees worldwide.
Benchley cited duplication of services for the cutback in jobs.
"Icon already has an extensive customer service and telemarketing department in place to assist its customers," he said. "Unfortunately, many of Health-Rider's services duplicated what we're already doing."
HealthRider, founded by Gary and Helen Smith and based in Salt Lake County, manufactures the HealthRider, aeROBICRider and SportRider exercise products. It recently moved into a new corporate headquarters in a new office park near the mouth of Big Cottonwood Canyon.
ICON was founded in 1977 by Scott Waterson and Gary Stevenson. Its product line includes such brand names as ProForm, Weslo, Image, Weider, WeiderCare and Jump-King - exercise bikes, treadmills and other fitness products.