The US agency behind the Roomba good vacuum cleaner, iRobot, has filed for chapter safety after going through competitors from Chinese rivals and being hit by tariffs.
Under the so-called pre-packaged Chapter 11 course of, the principle producer of its gadgets, Shenzhen-based Picea Robotics, will take possession of the agency.
The powerful industrial panorama had pressured iRobot to chop its costs and make main investments in new expertise, in accordance with paperwork filed on Sunday.
US import duties of 46% on items from Vietnam, the place most of iRobot’s gadgets for the American market are made, elevated its prices by $23m (£17.2m) this 12 months, the agency mentioned.
The loss-making firm was valued at $3.56bn in 2021 after the pandemic helped to drive robust demand for its merchandise. It is now valued at round $140m.
On Friday, iRobot’s shares fell by greater than 13% on the technology-heavy Nasdaq buying and selling platform in New York.
Founded in 1990 by three members of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s (MIT) Artificial Intelligence Lab, iRobot initially centered on defence and house expertise earlier than launching the Roomba in 2002.
Last 12 months, a deliberate $1.7bn takeover deal by on-line retail large Amazon was derailed by the European Union’s competitors watchdog.
Picea is a producer of robotic vacuum cleaners, with analysis and growth and manufacturing services in China and Vietnam.
It has greater than 7,000 workers worldwide and has offered greater than 20 million robotic vacuum cleaners.
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