Adidas closes Runtastic in Austria

Around 170 employees are said to be laid off. The start-up, founded in 2009, was sold to Adidas in mid-2015. Last year, 70 jobs were cut and the “adidas Training” app was discontinued.

The German sporting goods manufacturer Adidas is closing down the sports app developer Runtastic in Pasching (Linz-Land district), Salzburg and Vienna. Around 170 employees are currently affected, the company reported in a press release following a report on “nachrichten.at” on Monday. They were informed of the situation and the associated consequences at a meeting of management and representatives of adidas on Monday.

Runtastic’s remaining running app, “adidas Running”, will in future be operated from the existing central company locations in Herzogenaurach, Amsterdam and Zaragoza. The aim is to concentrate the know-how and digital skills at fewer locations. “As a result of the decision, the Runtastic locations in Austria – Pasching, Vienna and Salzburg – from which work was recently focused on the running app, will be gradually closed by mid-2025,” it said. The 170 Runtastic employees have the opportunity to apply for positions at the adidas locations in Herzogenaurach, Amsterdam or Zaragoza.

Sold to Adidas in 2015

“We are in dialogue with employees about how we can support them in this situation, whether it be a move to another adidas location or a career change,” explained Runtastic CEO Scott Dunlap.

Runtastic was founded in 2009 by university friends Florian Gschwandtner, Christian Kaar, René Giretzlehner and Alfred Luger and was initially known for its running app. In 2015, Adidas bought the start-up Runtastic for 220 million euros. After the takeover by adidas in 2015, there was an ever stronger integration with other digital offerings of the company. Last year, 70 jobs were cut and the app “adidas Training” was discontinued. Most recently, the name Runtastic was removed from the company name. (APA)