As the coronavirus pandemic continues to strangle the global economy, more and more companies are failing to keep up with the current crisis. From job cuts to salary cuts, companies are trying different ways to stay afloat during these testing times. Joining the list of companies severely hit by the economic slowdown, Gold's Gym has filed for bankruptcy protection.
"This has been a complete and total disruption of every one of our business norms, so we needed to take quick, decisive actions to enable us to get back on track," chief executive Adam Zeitsiff said in a video statement.
Gold's said that it will be closing 30 company-owned gyms permanently. But more than 700 gyms operated around the globe under Gold's branding are run by a franchise-model.
Gold's remains optimistic
Despite filing for bankruptcy, Gold's remains optimistic about the future. The New York-based company had already been battling with large debts even before the coronavirus pandemic. Now, the main creditors will take control of the group in order to recover the $1.65bn debts owed to the lenders.
But Zeitsiff noted that it plans to emerge from this bankruptcy protection by August if not sooner. He also assured its customers and employees this isn't the end of Gold's, which has a long-standing history of associations with celebs like Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jodie Foster, Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson and Tiger Woods.
"We're absolutely not going anywhere," Zeitsiff said, according to BBC.
