Moog Music has cut jobs at its Asheville, North Carolina, manufacturing factory, the Asheville Citizen-Times reports. The number of layoffs at the synthesizer brand is still unknown, but sources told the Citizen-Times that more than half of existing positions were removed, including most workers who made the instruments. Synth Anatomy cited social media posts from ex-employees who confirmed that layoffs had taken place.
The move comes after Moog was acquired by the audio electronics company inMusic in June of this year. Moog, through a representative, offered Pitchfork no comment.
Moog opened its Asheville headquarters in 2011. The company became employee-owned in 2015, when Moog Music adopted an employee stock ownership plan. Employees launched a unionization campaign in 2022, requesting job security and better pay. The employee ownership era ended this year with inMusic’s acquisition. Moog Music became part of the electronics company’s broader name alongside the brands Akai, Alesis, Denon, M-Audio, Marantz, and Numark.