'Difficult but Necessary': 23andMe Is Cutting 40% of Its Workforce

In early 2023, familial testing institution 23andMe had complete 800 employees. That number has much than halved arsenic 23andMe undergoes restructuring to trim costs.

On Monday, 23andMe announced its fifth information of layoffs since the opening of 2023. This information affects complete 200 group aliases astir 40% of its existent workforce — now the company's worker count is down to astir 300 people. The layoffs are expected to prevention 23andMe astir $35 million.

Related: 23andMe to Pay $30 Million Settlement After Massive Hack Exposed Customer Data to Dark Web

"We are taking these difficult but basal actions arsenic we restructure 23andMe and attraction connected the semipermanent occurrence of our halfway user business and investigation partnerships," 23andMe CEO Anne Wojcicki stated in a property release.

In summation to the layoffs, 23andMe is shutting down its therapeutics business, which studied crab treatments.

23andMe CEO Anne Wojcicki. Photographer: Kyle Grillot/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Related: 'Surprised and Disappointed': All Independent Board Members of 23andMe Resign, Leaving Only the CEO

What happened to 23andMe?

23andMe's move to restructure and trim costs follows a tumultuous fewer years for the company. The genetics institution has seen its valuation fall 99% from its $6 cardinal tallness erstwhile it first went nationalist successful 2021, leaving it a penny stock.

In April 2023, 23andMe was targeted successful a hack that exposed the individual information of 6.9 cardinal customers. The institution agreed to salary $30 million positive 3 years of information monitoring to settee the case.

Then, successful September, each independent board members of 23andMe resigned, leaving conscionable the CEO. In a letter, they called retired Wojcicki for not submitting a afloat connection to return the institution backstage complete the erstwhile 5 months. They said that they had a "protracted and distracting quality of view" pinch Wojcicki astir "the guidance of the Company."

Wojcicki controls 49% of 23andMe votes. A typical committee created by the institution rejected Wojcicki's proposal successful August to bargain each the shares she didn't already ain astatine $0.40 per stock and return the institution private. The committee members' resignations followed the move.

23andMe has since appointed caller independent board to its board, adding three executives successful precocious October.