New Peloton CEO Barry McCarthy denies reports that angry laid-off staffers crashed and cut short an all-hands meeting where he was introduced

• Peloton founder John Foley stepped down as CEO this month, after the company laid off 2,800 workers.
• CNBC previously reported that terminated staffers crashed an all-hands meeting introducing the new CEO, ultimately cutting it short.
• In a NYT interview Saturday, new CEO Barry McCarthy refuted reports that the meeting was shut down early.

Peloton’s new CEO Barry McCarthy denied reports that angry laid-off workers shut down the company all-hands meeting where he was introduced.

In an interview with The New York Times, McCarthy refuted claims that a recent internal meeting announcing him as new chief executive came to a halt when a contingent of terminated staffers allegedly showed up and shut it down, instead telling DealBook the gathering “didn’t get cut short by the way.”

McCarthy — who formerly served as CFO at both Spotify and Netflix — made the remark while discussing the difference between his management style and that of Peloton founder and former CEO, John Foley. McCarthy took over for Foley earlier this month, replacing the founder after several weeks of hardship for the company, including the firing of 2,800 employees as part of cost-cutting measures to combat slumping demand for its home fitness products. 

The new CEO told the New York Times that he disagrees with Foley’s statements that Peloton employees are like family. 

“You’ll never hear me say we’re a family,” McCarthy said. “We’re a sports team, and we’re trying to win the Super Bowl.”

According to CNBC, which first reported on the crashing of the virtual hands-on meeting, three people familiar with the situation said laid-off and current Peloton workers blew up the chat with angry comments about the terminations and accused the company of mismanagement. 

“I’m selling all my Peloton apparel to pay my bills!!!” wrote one person, according to CNBC, citing messages it obtained.

“This is awfully tone deaf,” another said, CNBC reported. 

McCarthy also said in the DealBook interview Saturday that Peloton had “spent money on things that they shouldn’t have” and “got caught up in the vision thing at the expense of getting real.”

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