Gas Gas Halts Production over Financial Issues

We are talking about some 500 employees who are now in standby, and who have been working very hard to help Gas Gas make a solid comeback in international markets and in all the sporting series. Unfortunately, Gilat says he cannot eliminate the prospect of having to lay off some of the employees and restructure some of the positions in the company.

Everything stopped: production of bikes, spare parts and even the R&D department

To understand how serious things are we will tell you that Gas Gas has come to a complete halt, and this includes not only the bike production line, but also the manufacturing of spare parts and the research and development department. Of course, this could in turn induce certain delays in the supply of bikes and parts, but Gilat said Gas Gas’ partners, as in suppliers, importers and retailers have been very supportive and patient, as they understood that this is the way they could somehow ease a bit the burden on the company’s shoulders.

Recently, the Gas Gas management got closer to the stakeholders in an attempt to find financing sources to surmount the current difficulties. One of the solutions enforced was to lower the prices on the US market, but it was not enough to make a big difference. Aparently, Gas Gas needs 24 million Euros ($27,4 million) to straighten things out, Spanish media says. Not exactly a fortune for wealthy investors, but definitely not beer money for Gas Gas.

A new investor is expected in mid-February

Things could become less alarming, the US Gas Gas importer says. A new investor is said to be interested in helping Gas Gas. At the same time, the Catalan government is also believed to have a say in helping Gas Gas. Until then things remain murky. Gas Gas and Ossa merged in late January last year, but the tie-up was not about Ossa actually buying the other company. The two brands remained distinct, and we can hope that Gas Gas’ troubles will not affect Ossa. Stay tuned for more info soon.