Polar today announced that it will begin change negotiations for all personnel in Finland. The negotiations intend to reduce the headcount equivalent by 140 (15%).
The company’s communications director, Pauliina Sjölund, said by email that the necessary savings will primarily be made through layoffs.
According to Sjölund, demand for Polar products dropped significantly last year. Unfortunately, the same situation appears to have continued into early 2023, prompting today’s move.
Sjölund also said that positive financial signs have been seen from Polar’s fledgling initiatives, such as algorithm licensing but these are insufficient to curtail the planned actions.
We have to take immediate corrective measures to secure the future of our business [Sjölund]
The change negotiations will begin on Monday, March 20 and will last at least six weeks.
Polar Electro, which manufactures heart rate monitors and other sports instruments, was founded in 1977 in Kempele. According to the 2021 financial statements, the Polar Group employed 1,146 people in 20 countries with a turnover of €152.5m (2021).
Source: Kalev via MBaxter
Take Out
Today’s news comes as no surprise and is very much in line with redundancies we have seen announced elsewhere in the endurance sports industry. Although most so far have been cycling-related whereas perhaps Polar could be viewed more as a running and fitness company.
Only last week we heard fairly solid rumours that Polar might launch a Wear OS watch on Google’s mobile software platform. That is a positive sign that Polar is probably still large enough to weather the upcoming financial storm but smaller companies may struggle even more.
Last Updated on 26 January 2026 by the5krunner
Small things I always use
- Garmin 90-degree charging adapter: Charges your Garmin with any USB-C cable. Essential when travelling. I use one.
- Body Glide: The blue anti-chafing stick swimmers and runners carry. I use it.
- Speedo earplugs: Fewer ear infections and no cold-water dizziness. I use them.
- Dryrobe Advance: My winter changing robe for open-water swims. I use one. A cheaper option is the AONYIYI changing robe.
- Maurten: Race fuel that stays easy on the stomach. I use them.
- Beet It Sport nitrate shots: Beetroot shots I take in the days before a race. I use them.
- Garmin charging puck: The quickest way to top up before a session. I use one.
- Injinji: Toe socks that stop rubbing, so you run more. I use them.
- Ultimate toe protectors: Stop black toenails on long runs. They work. I use them.
- Compressport R2 v2 calf sleeves: My calf sleeves of choice. I use them.
- Cellucor C4: My pre-workout before hard sessions.
- TPU tubes: Schwalbe Aerothan, Tubolito and Pirelli SmarTube. Light, tiny spares. I use all three.
- G8 insoles: Adjustable arches, perfect position. I use them.
- Cycplus Cube: A 97g electric pump that gets a road tyre rideable in two minutes. I carry one. 5% off with code THE5KRUNNER.
Health, recovery and sleep
- Kineon MOVE+: Red and infrared light for sore knees, Achilles and other joints after hard training. I use it.
- FreeStyle Libre 3 Plus: Shows how my blood sugar responds to diet. Occasional use.
- hDrop: Measures my sweat loss in summer and indoors. I use it.
- Fourth Frontier Zone: Checks my heart under load in hard sessions.
- Oura Ring 5: My partner’s recovery tracker of choice.
- Eight Sleep: A cooling mattress cover my partner and I use nightly.
Watches and sensors
- Polar H10: My daily driver for waking HRV.
- Polar Verity Sense: My backup arm-worn HR sensor.
- Nomad bedside charger: Charges my iPhone and Apple Watch overnight. I use it, and many of their bands.
- Train.Red: The best muscle oxygen sensor I’ve used. Occasional use.
- Tymewear: Accurate heart rate and reliable ventilatory zones. I use it to pace endurance rides over an hour.
- Garmin Forerunner 970: A pro-grade triathlon watch. I use this.
- Apple Watch Ultra 4: My daily smartwatch. No phone needed on rides.
On the bike
- Continental GP5000 for everyday riding, and Aero 111 on the front for special occasions. I use both.
- Helmets: Specialized S-Works Evade 3 for road riding, and Rudy Project Wing for TT-style races. I use both.
- Ravemen FR300: A front light that mounts under your Garmin or Wahoo. I use one.
- Ravemen FR1000: The light and the computer mount in one unit, so nothing else goes on the bars. Better than mine.
- Ravemen FR1500SE: 1,500 lumens hanging under your Garmin, for proper night rides.
- Ravemen FR1100SE: 1,100 lumens under your Garmin, and up to 46 hours on slow flash.
- Ravemen FR500: A brighter FR300 with the same mount.
- Wahoo TRACKR Radar: I use it on one bike and Varia on the other. They perform the same.
- Garmin Varia RTL515: Radar that warns you of cars from behind. I use this model.
- Wahoo ELEMNT Roam 3: The bike computer that’s easy to use. I use mine on most rides.
- Favero Assioma Pro RS2: Accurate power pedals that swap easily between bikes. I use this model.
Home and indoor training
- NPE Runn: Makes my basic treadmill smart, sending more accurate speed and distance to my watch and Zwift. I use it.
- Google Wifi: Keeps Zwift connected in my pain cave. I use it.
- Apple TV 4K: Zwift on the big screen. I use two.
- Google Nest Doorbell (wired, 2nd gen): My video doorbell, running in both Google Home and Apple Home via Starling. I use it.
Reader-Powered Content
This content is not sponsored. It’s mostly me behind the labour of love, which is this site, and I appreciate everyone who supports it.
Support the site: Follow (free, fewer ads) · Subscribe (paid, ad-free) · Buy Me A Coffee
Written by real people, with AI assistance. Fact-checked and verified for originality. See the Editorial Policy. FTC: Affiliate Disclosure — some links pay commission. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
tfk is the founder and author of the5krunner, an independent endurance sports technology publication. With 20 years of hands-on testing of GPS watches and wearables, and competing in triathlons at an international age-group level, tfk provides in-depth expert analysis of fitness technology for serious athletes and endurance sport competitors. See the gear tfk uses. ID
This reminds me that I have 2 aged Polar Pro straps that I’m losing confidence in. I should stock up. I’m sure my $70 will save the company. :`(
Bit of a shame really because Polar got me started in running back with the M21 heart rate monitor in the early nineties. Great and reliable products. In fact, my little M200 still works after all these years and it’s still really accurate. The newest Polar Vantage V2 is a really great looking and feature full watch too.
I don’t use Polar products at the moment but intend to move back to them in the next couple years (I have too many watches my wife tells me!)
Polar should try advertising! The best fitness watch made shouldn’t be depending on word of mouth!
that costs money, they get people like me to do it for free 😉
yes, you have a point tho. The Ignite is pretty good. Pacer Pro too
Upsetting. Hopefully they can find a way back
Its not like there is low demand on Polar products its simply Polar missing customers demand. You cant cheat reality. Poor update support, many bugs, poor hardware. Polar blame customers, they should look at mirror at first place
Source?
it’s in the article
Hardly surprising if sad nevertheless. Their fate was a done deal before the pandemic. The software platform is utterly stagnant with an ever growing number of bugs, the hardware is meh at best and isn’t really competitive in any way including price, and a feature gap is increasing, not just with Garmin, but now even COROS and Apple.
Both Suunto and Polar are going the way of Nokia. Maybe had they joined together a few years ago, with Suunto providing hardware and GPS expertise and Polar throwing in their platform and algorithms, they would have had a shot to remain a contrarian competitor on the level of COROS… Now it’s a just a tragic slowly moving train wreck.
yeah, maybe
I suspect Coros has a more agile approach to feature development.
yet Coros’ features often only scratch the surface and tick the box. but that’s perhaps what people want, the feature checklist approach worked well for garmin a decade ago.
I don’t see any feature gap between Polar nad Coros. I don’t think even Apple is at the level of Polar yet. Garmin is on whole another level though.
apple is not close to the sports features of Polar.
Wahoo makes a great bike computer but a horrible watch, Polar makes a great watch but does not have a bike computer. How about some sort of Joint Venture between the 2 companies? A Wahoo Roam working with a Polar Grit X combination would Rival (pun intended) A Garmin Fenix /Edge 830 combination any day.
I don’t think this is so much to worry about. Sad that people loosing their jobs, but I don’t think Polars future in the business is on the line atm.
But, for them to actually sell more they need to release watches. What do you think, is there coming a new flagship this spring or do they wait until fall?
these two might help
https://the5krunner.com/2023/03/07/polar-to-return-to-wear-os-hints-ceo/
https://the5krunner.com/2023/02/27/2023-new-garmin-polar/