By Colin Kruger and Jessica Yun
WeightWatchers Australia has confirmed it will slash staff as the global group struggles for financial survival against a new generation of weight-loss drugs like Ozempic.
The group’s Australian arm, which has about 150 staff under payroll, plus contractors, confirmed the cuts had resulted from a move to cease in-person and online meetings, which have formed a core part of the program’s success.
Talk show host Oprah Winfrey, previously a major ambassador and board member of WeightWatchers, has confirmed she is now using weight-loss drugs like Ozempic.Credit: Getty Images
“While we will be discontinuing WeightWatchers in-person studio workshops as well as virtual personal coaching in Australia and New Zealand, effective 2 November, 2024, we are continuing to offer virtual workshops and full digital access through the WeightWatchers app, offering local members the option to move to a digital-only subscription,” a spokesperson said.
“Unfortunately, with these changes, there are employees who will be impacted. We are fully committed to supporting them throughout this transition period and thank them for their loyalty and dedication to serving our members at the highest standard.”
The company did not say how many workers would be affected. Its most recent financial report, from 2022, said it had 176 staff in Australia.
Local rival Jenny Craig’s Australian operations collapsed in May last year, despite the business reassuring the public it would “currently continue to operate and support our clients” after the collapse of its US parent company. It was ultimately unable to find a buyer, leading to the closure of 73 stores. Woolworths-backed healthcare tech Eucalyptus agreed to buy Jenny Craig Australia’s online capability.
WeightWatchers’ US operations slashed in-person meetings in March 2023 to move to online workshops and has embraced GLP-1 drugs, like Ozempic to confront the existential threat to its traditional business that has sent its shares plunging from $US45¢ in 2020 to just US81¢ this week.
US celebrity Oprah Winfrey dealt the group a major blow in February when she revealed that she was stepping down from the WeightWatchers board and donating her 10 per cent stake in the business to charity.
Winfrey has been synonymous with WeightWatchers for almost a decade after buying her 10 per cent stake at $US6.79 a share and joining the company’s board.
“I believe in the program so much, I decided to invest in the company and partner in its evolution,” she said after the deal was announced in 2015.
In December last year, Winfrey revealed she was now taking weight-loss medication after realising that weight management does not depend solely on a person’s self-control.
In March, in a televised special, she said she had left the WeightWatchers board to allow her to talk freely about weight loss.
WeightWatchers “is now in the business of being a weight-health company that also administers drug medications for weight. I did not want to have the appearance of any conflict of interest,” she said.
WeightWatchers in Australia has yet to file its financial results for the 2023 year, but financial accounts lodged with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission indicate it has struggled for some time.
Revenue plunged 17 per cent to $30.3 million for the year ending December 31, 2022, and it reported a loss of $488,000. It now has accumulated losses totalling $6.38 million, but is still an important financial contributor to the US business, which received $6 million in royalty and services payments.
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