内容来源：https://www.geekwire.com/2025/rad-power-bikes-faces-possible-shutdown-as-it-tries-to-survive-significant-financial-challenges/

内容总结：

曾被誉为北美电动自行车销量冠军的美国西雅图企业Rad Power Bikes正面临生存危机。该公司本周一确认，由于"严峻财务压力"，已向华盛顿州政府提交《工人调整与再培训通知》，预示可能于2026年1月停止运营。若最终关停，将导致西雅图总部64个岗位消失，包括高管团队及技术人员。

这家创立于2007年的企业曾在疫情期间迎来高光时刻：2021年估值飙升至16.5亿美元，跻身"独角兽"行列，累计融资超3.29亿美元。但公司坦言未能预见"后疫情时代消费需求的骤降"，同时受关税政策与宏观经济拖累，尽管管理层积极寻求融资或并购等出路，原定一项"前景看好的交易"最终未能落地。

目前公司官网仍在开展"黑色星期五"促销活动。内部信显示，"拯救Rad"已成为企业当前共同口号，替代了沿用多年的"畅骑Rad"。根据行业观察，全球电动自行车市场正在退烧，欧洲品牌VanMoof去年宣告破产，多家同业者也面临结构性挑战。

（注：根据要求已省略信函原文及注册信息等次要内容）

中文翻译：

总部位于西雅图的电动自行车制造商拉德动力自行车公司本周一证实，由于面临"重大财务挑战"，这家在疫情期间曾跃居北美电动自行车销量榜首的企业正为生存而战。该公司已于上周五向华盛顿州就业安全局提交《工人调整和再培训通知》。公司发言人向媒体表示，此举是"针对可能最早于2026年1月停止运营的预先书面预警"。

若最终关闭，将意味着这家曾凭借疫情期电动自行车需求跃升为"独角兽"、被誉为西雅图最耀眼消费硬件初创企业的彻底崩塌。根据备案文件，停产将影响位于西雅图巴拉德区总部的64个岗位，包括首席执行官、首席财务官、多位总监级职位及客服代表、自行车技师等。该公司在美加两国九座城市设有零售门店。

"最终决定尚未作出，这些通知属于预防性措施，"发言人强调，"管理层正积极寻求所有可行方案维持运营。"备选方案包括获取维持经营的资金或被收购——该公司迄今已融资超3.29亿美元。此前一项"极具希望的交易"已接近收官却最终未能落地。

在致员工信中，公司坦言"未能预见后疫情时代消费需求从峰值骤降"，同时还要应对"关税政策与宏观经济环境带来的双重挑战"。如今公司内部已形成集体口号："拯救拉德"——这与其沿用多年的品牌口号"骑骋非凡"形成鲜明对比。目前该公司官网仍在销售自行车并推出黑色星期五促销活动。

此次备案符合华盛顿州7月27日生效的《迷你警告法案》要求，该法案规定"州内雇佣50名以上全职员工的企业，在进行影响50人以上的大规模裁员或停业时，需提前60天发出书面通知"。

该公司由迈克·雷登博和泰·柯林斯于2007年创立，两位创始人在北加州洪堡州立大学就读时相识，并共同改装出首台电动自行车。在经历多年传统自行车电动化定制业务后，他们于2015年创立直面消费者的品牌。疫情期间随着电动自行车需求激增，该公司销售额与员工数量迅猛增长，2021年获超3亿美元融资，据PitchBook数据当年估值达16.5亿美元，成为西雅图地区屈指可数的"独角兽"企业。

公司现任CEO为凯西·伦茨施，她曾执掌巴特尔制药公司直至2020年被来德爱收购，还领导过金普斯百货、大象药房等企业，并在恩斯科、陶器坊和世界市场担任高管。其前任为索尼前总裁菲尔·莫利纽克斯，后者在今年初卸任。西雅图企业家达雷尔·卡文斯与马克·瓦顿（曾助力蓝色尼罗河与祖利莉成为在线零售巨头）于2019年投资该公司。

2020年在威尔坎资本和持久资本合伙公司领投下，拉德获得2500万美元融资。随着疫情蔓延，因消费出行与运动习惯剧变，当年5月其订单量激增297%。2021年全球电动自行车市场爆发，公司再获1.5亿美元投资，投资方包括摩根斯坦利旗下Counterpoint Global、富达管理与研究公司、TPG运营的全球影响力投资平台The Rise Fund及普信集团关联基金。同年晚些时候，公司又融资1.54亿美元。

2022年4月，公司启动系列裁员，从725名员工中裁减100人，称其为业务重组。7月再裁63人，12月继续裁员。创始人雷登博卸任CEO，由同年早些时候入职的总裁兼首席运营官莫利纽克斯接替。裁员持续至2023年和2024年，公司同时停止向英国和欧盟客户销售自行车。

拉德公司的困境折射出电动自行车市场整体遇冷。欧洲品牌VanMoof于2023年破产，比利时品牌Cowboy等竞争对手在经历疫情高峰后也难以维持。成本上升、关税压力等因素正迫使多家电动自行车制造商缩减规模或寻求收购。

以下是该公司致员工的内部信函译文：

如各位所知，拉德动力自行车公司在后疫情时期持续面临经济挑战。与传统自行车及电动自行车行业其他企业一样，公司未能预见疫情期消费需求峰值后的断崖式下滑。虽在清销疫情期间积压的成品库存方面取得显著进展，并持续削减疫情期间采购的原材料负债，但公司仍面临关税与宏观经济环境带来的重大财务压力。

过去数月间，管理层已探索多种延续经营的方案，包括寻求可收购公司或提供资金支持的战略合作伙伴。直至近期，某项方案仍前景可期，但最终未能落实。领导层仍在竭力寻找维持"拉德"品牌存续的可行路径，全体同仁始终秉持的共同信念仍是"拯救拉德"。

员工是公司最宝贵的财富，我们力求最大限度保障每位同事的权益。管理层期待能找到可行方案，确保团队在可预见的未来持续稳定就业。但需要明确的是，尽管我们全力以赴，仍不排除最终被迫停业的可能。为此我们提前发布本通知，以履行联邦《工人调整和再培训通知法案》与华盛顿州相关法规的要求。尽管公司希望本通知最终无需生效，且不认可相关法案必然适用，但仍愿最大限度预警潜在停业风险。

需要明确的是，管理层仍在全力寻求延续经营的出路，停业绝非既定事实。我们当下的每分努力都将影响"拯救拉德"的使命达成，公司需要每位成员继续提供卓越服务，共同奋战到底。

若公司最终被迫关闭，停业时间将为2026年1月9日或其后的14天内。届时所有办公点和部门将永久停止运营，全体员工将于2026年1月9日终止聘用。此停业决定非因业务搬迁或外包所致。受影响的华盛顿州员工不隶属任何工会，亦不适用职位顶替权。

根据相关法案，本通知仅适用于西雅图总部员工及向总部汇报的远程员工。但公司决定向全体员工通报财务状况与潜在发展动向。其他办公点雇员均不足50人，无法定通知义务。

拉德公司《工人调整和再培训通知》备案信息
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英文来源：

Seattle-based electric-bike maker Rad Power Bikes, which grew into the leading e-bike seller in North America during the pandemic, is fighting for survival as it faces “significant financial challenges,” the company confirmed on Monday.
Rad filed a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) with the Washington state Employment Security Department on Friday. A company spokesperson told GeekWire the filing was part of “advance written notice of a potential cessation of operations that could occur as early as January 2026.”
The closure would spell the end of the company and mark a stunning collapse for Rad Power Bikes, which was once Seattle’s highest-profile consumer hardware startup, riding pandemic-era e-bike demand to unicorn status.
According to the WARN filing, a shutdown would impact 64 jobs at Rad’s headquarters location in Seattle’s Ballard neighborhood. Affected positions include the company’s CEO, CFO, multiple director-level roles, customer service reps, and bike mechanics. Rad also operates retail locations in nine cities in the U.S. and Canada.
“No final decisions have been made, and these notices are precautionary,” the Rad spokesperson said. “Rad’s leadership is actively pursuing all viable options to keep the company operating.”
Those options include funding to keep the company moving forward or an acquisition of Rad, which has raised more than $329 million to date. One “very promising deal” was close to completion and appeared likely to close, but did not “come to fruition.”
In a letter to employees (below), the company said that it “did not anticipate the sudden drop in consumer demand from Covid-era peaks” and that in addition it was dealing with challenges “in the form of tariffs and the macroeconomic landscape.”
According to the letter, a collective mantra has emerged at the company: “Save Rad.” For years, the slogan of choice has been “Ride Rad.”
The company is still selling bikes on its website and promoting deals for Black Friday.
The filing with the state is in compliance with Washington’s Mini-WARN Act, which went into effect July 27, and “requires employers with 50 or more full-time employees in the state to provide 60 days’ advance written notice for mass layoffs or business closures impacting 50 or more employees.”
Rad was conceived in 2007 by co-founders Mike Radenbaugh and Ty Collins, who met as students at Humboldt State University in Northern California and built their first e-bike together. After years of doing custom conversions of traditional bikes to electric, they launched their company as a direct-to-consumer brand in 2015.
Rad saw big demand amid the pandemic as more people bought e-bikes. Its sales and workforce surged and it raised more than $300 million from investors in 2021. The company was valued at $1.65 billion that year, according to PitchBook, making it one of a handful of “unicorn” startups in the Seattle region at the time.
Rad operates out of a headquarters and flagship retail location on NW 52nd Street in Seattle’s Ballard neighborhood.
The company is currently led by CEO Kathi Lentzsch, who previously ran Bartell Drugs as CEO before the company sold to Rite-Aid in 2020. She also led companies including Gump’s and Elephant Pharmacy, and held exec roles at Enesco, Pottery Barn and World Market.
Lentzsch replaced Phil Molyneux, the former Sony president who stepped down earlier this year after leading Rad for more than two years.
Seattle entrepreneurs Darrell Cavens and Mark Vadon, who helped grow online retail giants Blue Nile and Zulily, invested in Rad in 2019.
The company raised $25 million in 2020, led by Vulcan Capital and Durable Capital Partners LP, and by May of that year as the pandemic took hold, Rad was fielding a 297% increase in demand due to rapid changes in consumer transportation and exercise habits.
As the global electric bike market exploded, Rad took on another $150 million in 2021 from big-name investors such as Counterpoint Global (Morgan Stanley), Fidelity Management & Research Company, The Rise Fund, the global impact investing platform managed by TPG, and funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates.
Later that year, as ridership surged, Rad raised another $154 million.
In April 2022, the company began a series a layoffs, slashing 100 jobs from its 725-person workforce as part of what it described as a restructuring. Another 63 employees were cut in July, and more followed in December.
Radenbaugh stepped down as CEO and was replaced by Molyneux, who was hired as president and COO earlier in 2022.
Layoffs continued into 2023 and 2024, and the company stopped selling its bikes to customers in the United Kingdom and European Union.
Rad’s struggles come amid a broader cooling of the e-bike market. Europe’s VanMoof filed for bankruptcy in 2023, while Belgium-based Cowboy and other rivals have struggled to find sustainable footing after pandemic-era highs. Rising costs, tariffs and other factors have forced several electric-bike makers to downsize or seek buyers.
Copy of the letter the company sent to Rad Power Bikes employees:
As you are aware, Rad Power Bikes Inc. (“Rad”) has faced economic challenges following the pandemic impacts. Like other companies in the traditional and e-bike industry, Rad did not anticipate the sudden drop in consumer demand from Covid-era peaks. Rad has made significant progress in selling down the substantial excess inventory of finished goods built up during Covid and has been working to minimize its liabilities for raw materials purchased during or shortly after Covid. However, Rad continues to face significant financial challenges, including in the form of tariffs and the macroeconomic landscape.
For the past several months, executive leadership has explored different ways to continue Rad’s business, including strategic partnerships with other companies that could acquire the company or provide funding so the company could keep moving forward. Until recently, one such option seemed very promising and appeared to be likely to close. Unfortunately, that did not come to fruition. Leadership is still working to find other viable options to keep the Rad brand alive. The collective mantra has been and will continue to be, “Save Rad.”
Rad is nothing without its people and wants to ensure that all employees are taken care of and provided for to the fullest extent feasible. Executive leaders are hopeful that a viable solution will be found to ensure that Rad team members remain gainfully employed for the foreseeable future. However, to be fully transparent, despite our collective efforts, it is possible that this may not happen, and Rad may be forced to cease operations. In the event that occurs, Rad is providing this notice to you to satisfy any obligation that may exist under the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act and the State of Washington’s “mini-WARN” Act (collectively “the WARN Acts”). While Rad hopes this notice is ultimately unnecessary and does not concede that the WARN Acts apply or that notice is required, the company nonetheless wishes to provide as much notice of the potential closure as possible.
To be clear, Rad’s leaders are still fighting to find ways to continue and emphasize that the cessation of Rad’s operations is not a foregone conclusion. What we do now as a team can impact the mission to Save Rad. Rad needs every team member to keep providing excellent service to keep fighting.
In the event the company is forced to close, Rad would be required to cease operations on January 9, 2026 or within 14 days thereafter. In that case, Rad expects that any cessation of operations will affect all locations and departments, will be permanent in nature, and that all employees will be terminated effective January 9, 2026. The cessation of Rad’s operations would not be the result of relocation or contracting out the company’s operations or the affected employees’ positions. The affected Washington state employees (listed below) are not represented by any union and there are no bumping rights applicable to the affected employees.
Pursuant to the WARN Acts, this notice is applicable only to those employees assigned to the Seattle office located at 1121 NW 52nd Street, Seattle, WA 98107, or remote employees reporting to the Seattle office. However, Rad has elected to notify all employees, regardless of location, and provide the same information regarding Rad’s financial situation and potential next steps. All other locations employ less than 50 individuals and are not subject to the WARN Acts’ formal notice requirements.
Rad’s Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification:
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