EK Water Blocks lays off a quarter of its workforce

Slovenia-based water cooling manufacturer EK Water Blocks has cut 25 percent of its workforce. The manufacturer cites the decline in sales in recent months, which it says was related to the COVID-19 pandemic and the prevailing Ukraine war, as the reason.

EK Water Blocks lays off 25 percent of its workforce

While the Corona pandemic has ensured rapid growth in the PC industry and also in the German gaming sector, hardware components in the premium segment in particular have had to accept losses. This includes water cooling systems from EK Water Blocks, which has seen sales drop by up to 20 percent in every quarter since October 2021, according to slovenian media.

As a result, 60 of the 200 employees will have to leave their jobs. Also due to raw material shortages related to the Ukraine war, the manufacturer’s sales continued to decline steadily.

After growth came loss

As TechPowerUp reports, EKWB has achieved tremendous financial growth over the past five years, through Q4 2021. The company was even awarded by the Slovenian Chamber of Commerce for its continuous growth and financial prudence. In 2021, they have even hired 64 new employees, the report adds.

When asked by TechPowerUp for the reasons behind the job cuts, EK Water Blocks said it was “taking early precautions to streamline our operations in Slovenia. Unfortunately, this was accompanied by a reduction in the number of employees by approximately 25%.”

In the future, he said, plans would also be initiated to make the “more outstanding and innovative products”available in new geographic markets and distribution channels. The manufacturer’s existence is therefore unlikely to be threatened.

The specialist for DIY water cooling systems wants to further penetrate the highly competitive segment of AiO solutions and take on well-known brands such as Antec, Cooler Mester, Corsair or Thermaltake. During recent EKWB Expo online events, EKWB even presented additional new air cooling solutions.