Backpedaling GT to Lay Off 100 Workers in Santa Ana

GT Bicycles Inc. said Thursday it will close its fabrication and assembly operations in Santa Ana by the end of June, resulting in about 100 layoffs.

Santa Ana-based GT said the company’s domestic manufacturing volume was not large enough to support operations at the 360,000-square-foot facility at 2001 E. Dyer Road. The company said that much of its bicycle production is currently being done by other domestic and Asia-based suppliers and that it made sense to expand partnerships with those larger vendors.

The announcement comes almost two years after GT Bicycles was bought by Colorado-based Schwinn in a $79-million deal that created one of the world’s largest bicycle makers. GT is a 20-year-old company that started in a garage and grew rapidly by making upscale products.

GT moved into the Santa Ana facility in 1997, signing a 10-year lease. The company said it will maintain its headquarters for management, sales and marketing there. The facility currently employs about 300. GT said resources now invested in manufacturing will be shifted to enhance product design, marketing and distribution.

The company said it notified affected employees Thursday morning. Those workers will receive at least two months’ notice and a severance package that includes a minimum of four weeks’ pay and help in finding new employment, according to the company.