SANTA FE, N.M. (BRAIN) — Bicycle Technologies, Inc. will shut down operations at the end of the day Friday due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Suspending operations was a difficult decision," BTI president Preston Martin wrote on the company's website. "We could stay open for our employees and to serve our customers, or do the right thing for the health of our people, our dealers, and the country. If being closed means preventing even one transmission that saves countless lives down the line, then so be it."
Martin said the decision wasn't directly driven by an order from New Mexico's governor this week that all non-essential businesses shut down. Unlike many states, New Mexico did not make an exception for bike retail and service. BTI also has a warehouse near Reno, Nevada.
"At the end of the day we would have done the same thing no matter what the state did," Martin told BRAIN Thursday afternoon. "The underlying feeling among the management team was to follow the stay-at-home orders in both states where we operate. It's in our interest to see a swift end to this whole nightmare and get back to work."
He said the company would ship all orders received by the end of day cutoff on Friday. BTI intends to resume business on April 13. BTI also will continue to accept suspension service and custom wheel build work during the shutdown. Martin said BTI is covering pay and benefits for all staff this week and the next, until the anticipated end date of the suspension of operations.
"We salute those shops who need to stay open and those that have made the hard choice to close. This is an unprecedented situation calling for every business to do what is right for them. You can do it. Thanks for your support," Martin concluded in the message on the BTI website.
