Nike Reportedly Shuttering Popular FuelBand Trackers, Fires Development Team

Consumers looking for a product to track their daily activity won’t find one at Nike for much longer. The sportswear company is set to discontinue the popular Fuelband and has reportedly already fired the team tasked with the fitness tracker’s development.

To begin efforts of shuttering the FuelBand, Nike fired the 70-person hardware team that was focused on industrial design, manufacturing operations electrical and mechanical hardware engineering and software interface design, CNET reports.

Officials with Nike remain tightlipped on quitting the FuelBand, but the company’s plan for releasing new editions of the tracker were canceled earlier this year. CNET reported earlier this month that the company had been discussing leaving the wearables market as far back as November 2013 after the FuelBand SE tracker was released.

“As a fast-paced, global business we continually align resources with business priorities,” Nike spokesman Brian Strong tells CNET. “As our Digital Sport priorities evolve, we expect to make changes within the team, and there will be a small number of layoffs. We do not comment on individual employment matters.”

Consumers will still be able to purchase the FuelBand SE, but don’t expect to see any new versions popping up, CNET reports. it was unclear whether the company would continue mass production of the tracker, or if when they’re out, they’re out.

Last week, Nike announced it was launching Fuel Lab, a testing space for the company’s other hardware initiatives.

Word of Nike quitting the fitness tracker business comes on the heels of scrutiny other wearables, such as FitBit, have faced after several consumers reported developing rashes after wearing the tracker. In March the government officially recalled certain models of the FitBit and just two weeks later the company was sued for allegedly misleading consumers on the product’s safety.

Back in January, Consumerist reported on the effectiveness of health-and fitness-tracking technology. Some health experts content that the trackers don’t provide consumers’ with long-term fitness and health benefits.

Exclusive: Nike fires majority of FuelBand team, will stop making wearable hardware [CNET]

by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist