WeightWatchers filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in an effort to reduce its debt by more than $1 billion
The company, which has struggled amid the rise of injectable weight-loss medication, made the move as it transitions to a telehealth service provider
CEO Tara Comonte said the weight-loss program has no plans to shut down and its 3.4 million members will not be impacted
WeightWatchers, the health and wellness program founded 62 years ago, has filed for bankruptcy.
On Tuesday, May 6, the company announced it is filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy to reduce its debt by more than $1 billion as it transitions to a telehealth service provider.
During the process, WeightWatchers’ debt will be eliminated, and it expects to emerge in about 40 days as a publicly traded company. The changes “will give us the flexibility to accelerate innovation, reinvest in our members, and lead with authority in a rapidly evolving weight management landscape,” CEO Tara Comonte said in a statement.
For decades, WeightWatchers shaped how millions lost weight by implementing nutrition and exercise plans through its community-based weight-loss program. However, the company has struggled in recent years due to the rise of weight-loss medications.
In an attempt to pivot, in 2023, the company announced the acquisition of a company called Sequence, a telehealth platform of healthcare providers to assist in prescribing the trendy GLP-1 drugs semaglutide and tirzepatide, known by brand names Ozempic, Wegovy and Monjuaro.
Related: Oprah Winfrey Leaves WeightWatchers Board, Donates Stock to African American History Museum
Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty
The Weight Watchers International Inc. mobile app
The PEOPLE Puzzler crossword is here! How quickly can you solve it? Play now!
Despite the transition, WeightWatchers’ stock plummeted. In February, the company’s latest earnings report revealed a 12% decline in members and a 10% decline in its first-quarter revenue. Additionally, its $100 million in interest payments on debt was noted as a “a significant ongoing burden for the company.”
WeightWatchers also lost its longtime spokesperson Oprah Winfrey last year.
In February 2024, the media mogul — who joined WeightWatchers in August 2015 and acquired a 10% stake in the company at that time — announced that she was leaving the company’s board of directors and donating all her shares to the National Museum of African American History and Culture.
The move came shortly after Winfrey — who once credited WeightWatchers for helping her lose over 40 lbs. — revealed that she had been using a weight-loss medication to help with her health journey. Reuters reported in April that WeightWatchers’ stock, which traded as high as $100 in 2018, lost most of its value in the months after.
Eugene Gologursky/Getty
Weight Watchers meeting room and store
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
However, Comonte told Today that the weight-loss company has no plans to shut down. She also said its 3.4 million members will not be impacted by the bankruptcy filing.
“We are going through this transaction to strengthen our financial foundation for WeightWatchers moving forward so that we can innovate and compete and continue to invest in our business,” she told the outlet.
“As the conversation around weight shifts toward long-term health, our commitment to delivering the most trusted, science-backed, and holistic solutions — grounded in community support and lasting results—has never been stronger, or more important,” she added in a release.
Since the bankruptcy announcement, WeightWatchers stock has reportedly fallen more than 56%.
Read the original article on People
