Suunto’s next watches, Race 4, Run 3 and Vertical 3, look set to be designed and made in China and sold under a Finnish name from a European shop front. That is the likely result of a plan by Suunto’s Chinese owner, Liesheng, to cut up to 118 of the roughly 160 roles left at Suunto in Finland.
Staff were told on Monday 9 November that Liesheng plans to move Suunto’s Finnish operations mainly to China and to other European countries. The change negotiations, the consultation Finnish law requires before redundancies, cover every Suunto Oy employee except top management. No final decisions have been made, and Suunto’s management did not respond to Helsingin Sanomat, which reported the plan on 12 November.
What Suunto becomes
I expect Suunto to follow the pattern other Chinese-owned wearable brands already use in Europe. Engineering, firmware and production sit in China, next to the parent’s factories and component suppliers. Brand, marketing, sales, PR, the web store and the legal company stay in Europe, next to the customers.
Amazfit is the clearest example. Its parent, Zepp Health, moved its principal executive offices from Hefei to Gorinchem in the Netherlands in May 2025 and runs its European business through Zepp Europe Holding B.V. Amazfit has a separate EU web store, its own European affiliate programme and a head of PR for EMEA, while the companies that develop and build its watches are in China.
Suunto is already most of the way there. Liesheng set up Suunto Sports Technology (Dongguan) Co. in 2022, the year it bought Suunto, and it advertises Suunto engineering and finance jobs in Dongguan and Chengdu. EMEA brought in about two-thirds of Suunto’s revenue in 2025, and Suunto already has branches in France and the UK, so its European sales and marketing have obvious homes.
A small Finnish company is likely to survive as well. A Vantaa address keeps the heritage story intact.
Suunto Oy (Finland) is the company suing Garmin in Texas, and some low-volume products that are not watches, such as mechanical compasses, may still be made in Vantaa. Compass making is still in Finland, and the head office has so far stayed in Vantaa.
What Suunto is cutting and what stays
- Up to 118 of about 160 roles in Finland could be cut, leaving about 42 people.
- The negotiations cover every Suunto Oy employee except top management.
- The work is moving mainly to China and other European countries that have not been named.
- Watch production in Finland was already ending, after Suunto said in 2024 that it would concentrate it in China.
- Mechanical compass production remains in Finland for now.
Liesheng has not said which roles go to China and which go elsewhere in Europe, how long the negotiations will run, or whether dive computer work and compass making will stay in Vantaa.
What changes for athletes
Very little changes on the wrist. “Made in Finland” disappeared from most Suunto watches some time ago, and the label now reads “Designed in Finland”. After this round, that label is likely to go too.
Quality should hold, because the watches are already largely made in China and the recent ones are good. Suunto Run 2 kept its heart rate within 1 bpm of a chest strap across five of my test sessions, and Suunto Race 3S launched in October with sapphire and titanium as standard. I also expect Suunto to keep its new models at premium prices, because a premium brand is what Liesheng paid for.
Your warranty does not depend on where Suunto’s staff work. Suunto gives a two-year international warranty on its watches, and buyers in the UK and EU also have statutory rights against the retailer that no manufacturer can take away.
Software and support are the open questions. Suunto has released a lot this year, including the open SuuntoPlus platform, AI Coach and the Flex Band recovery tracker. Whether that pace holds once most of the remaining Finnish engineers have gone will show within a product cycle. I expect more of that development and support to be handled by AI.
Why Liesheng is doing it
Cost is the obvious reason, because Finnish salaries are higher than those in Dongguan and Suunto’s operating margin was only 2.7% in 2025. Suunto returned to profit in 2025 on turnover of €106.5m, but its operating cash flow was negative, and its equity stayed below zero until Liesheng converted a $13.9m loan into equity in March 2026.
The move also delivers what Liesheng said it would bring when it bought Suunto. Its chairman, Ma Hao, said in 2022 that Liesheng offered Suunto “product development, centralized sourcing, and access to wider international markets, especially in Asia”. Putting Suunto’s engineers next to Liesheng’s own supply chain is how that happens.
The shift has been under way for two years. Suunto’s Vantaa factory made 63% of its products in 2024, according to Suunto’s sustainability page, and its 2025 sustainability report puts the figure at 42%. Research spending and headcount fell over the same period, as the comparison with Polar and Amazfit also shows.
| Suunto group | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Turnover | €86.3m | €83.9m | €106.5m |
| R&D spending | €13.7m | €10.7m | €7.4m |
| Average headcount | 310 | 276 | 214 |
| Share made in Vantaa | n/a | 63% | 42% |
The Garmin lawsuit adds to the bill, because US patent litigation is expensive for a company of Suunto’s size.
Quick answers
Is Suunto leaving Finland?
Mostly. Suunto’s Chinese owner, Liesheng, plans to cut up to 118 of about 160 roles in Finland and move the work mainly to China and to other European countries. The head office and compass making are still in Vantaa for now.
Who owns Suunto?
Dongguan Liesheng Electronic, a Chinese consumer electronics company best known for its Haylou earbuds, has owned Suunto since 2022. Amer Sports owned it before that.
Where are Suunto watches made?
Most Suunto watches are made in China. The Vantaa factory made a shrinking share of Suunto’s products in 2024 and 2025, and Suunto said in 2024 that it would concentrate watch production in China.
Will my Suunto warranty change?
No change has been announced. Suunto gives a two-year international warranty, and buyers in the UK and EU also have statutory rights against the retailer, whatever happens to Suunto’s staff.
Will Suunto watches get worse?
There is no reason to expect a drop in build quality, because the watches are already largely made in China. The open question is whether software and support keep their pace as engineering moves.
Suunto v Garmin is still running
Suunto sued Garmin over five patents in the Eastern District of Texas in September 2025. Garmin replied in December with counterclaims over its own patents and named Liesheng alongside Suunto, so the parent is now a defendant too. One of the Garmin companies bringing those claims is Garmin Jyväskylä Oy, the former Firstbeat team in Finland.
Claims over one Suunto patent, covering golf shot detection, were dropped for good in January 2026, and Liesheng’s attempt to have Garmin’s counterclaim thrown out failed in the spring. The court docket sets the claim construction hearing for 4 February 2027 and jury selection for 16 August 2027.
How Suunto got here
- 1936: orienteer Tuomas Vohlonen patents a liquid-filled compass that is steadier and more accurate than earlier designs.
- 1965 to the 1990s: Suunto launches its first dive compass, then dive computers, then the wrist computers that became today’s watches.
- 1999: Amer Sports buys Suunto. An Anta-led consortium buys Amer Sports in 2019.
- January 2022: Amer agrees to sell Suunto to Liesheng, which indicates that Suunto will keep running its operations from Vantaa. The sale completes in May.
- June 2024: 76 of just under 300 staff go, and part of production and product development moves to China.
- March 2025: another round of negotiations covers supply chain and customer satisfaction roles.
- September 2025: Suunto sues Garmin.
- March 2026: Liesheng converts a $13.9m loan into equity.
- November 2026: up to 118 of about 160 Finnish roles are put at risk.
Take out
Suunto stopped being a Finnish manufacturer some time ago, and this round ends its time as a Finnish engineering company. For the athlete buying a Race 4 or Vertical 3, I expect that to make little difference, because the watches were already built in China, the warranty is protected by law, and Liesheng has every reason to look after the brand it paid for. The risk is to what made Suunto different, such as its dive expertise and the ideas that came from a small team in Vantaa, and a product cycle or two will show whether those survive the move.
Source and original research by: the5krunner and Helsingin Sanomat
Last Updated on 12 November 2026 by tfk the5krunner
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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
