California-based Bell Helmets has reportedly seen big layoffs as part of parent company Vista Outdoors’ massive cost reductions.

The story started withan SEC filingfrom Vista Outdoors describing closure of its facility in Scotts Valley, California, which included corporate teams for Blackburn, Copilot, Fox, Giro, Krash and Raskullz—and Bell Helmets:

On April 3, 2023, the Company announced an over $50 million cost reduction and earnings improvement program, which includes office closures,spending cuts, EBIT improvements and headcount reductions across our brands and corporate teams. The changes are being implemented in response to elevated retail inventory levels, rising interest rates and inflation, which have pressured our top and bottom lines and impacted our outlook for Fiscal Year 2024. The changes will help the Company compete in the current challenging economic environment and prepare for the separation of its Outdoor Products and Sporting Products segments into two independent, publicly traded companies, which is expected to occur in calendar year 2023…

Finding $50 million in savings means jobs are on the line, and that includes personnel from Bell, from both the motorcycle and bicycle sides of the company. One former staffer’s LinkedIn post said the ones that remained were offered the opportunity to relocate to Irvine, as part of Vista’s roll-up of its brands under the Fox Racing umbrella.

It seems unlikely that the move towards integration with Fox will mean an end to the Bell brand; Bell has been making helmets since the 1950s. Even though the current lineup is mostly (perhaps entirely, at this point) made in China, its products offer good quality for the money and (speaking from personal experience) excellent crash protection. No smart company wants to throw all that history and reputation away. We are likely to just see Fox’s marketeers now behind Bell’s PR, which is a change most riders will never notice at all…