WeightWatchers provided 5 min private one on one phone calls for employees with their territory managers with notification of termination. This all coming right after Sima's earnings call and announcement that they were buying Sequence telehealth platform for $100 Million PLUS. Rumor is over 2,000 full and part time employees have been fired.
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Former member and employee. WW su-ks. I would have to drive 300 miles round trip to a live meeting. Meetings is what set them apart. Somehow they managed to Budlight themselves. Forgot who their customer base is. A long with the dr-g thing. Sad.
I was looking for an alternative to nutrasystems. Tovala and WW came to mind .
Tried to get on the WW website and it wouldn't let me on or let me look at a menu until I gave it all my personal; information and a credit card. Are you friggen serious? Also no live person to answer the phone and direct me?
If you are going to close your meeting centers you need to at least have call centers to
talk to your existing clients and attract new ones. The upper management of this company are a bunch of id--ts and I can guarantee they are going to drive this company out of business in less then a year.
The closing of most WW centers, the firing of so many coaches, and the offering of weight loss dr-gs make me seriously question the future of the company in general and my desire to stick with it through this massive and disruptive transition specifically. But more than that, and I have been saying this for years. WW fails to recognize, acknowledge or address the fact that (guessing here) 75% of its members are serial WW members who have lost weight on the program and gained it back. Yes, WW offers Lifetime membership after you reach your goal and maintain it for 6 weeks, but what they fail to do is truly promote this as part of the program. There should be more emphasis on getting to goal and then STAYING there. I'm talking separate meetings for Lifetime members and creating a community focusing on KEEPING the weight off. But let's be real. WW is a for-profit company - promoting and supporting Lifetine members (at $0) will not increase revenue. Getting people to re-join, over and over and OVER again is the proverbial bread (4 pts) and butter (6 pts). (And I know that ultimately long term weight management is up to ME, but WW should be honest about that as opposed to saying they promote it - and will help - when in fact they do not. )
How can they get away with not mentioning layoffs on the news. Amazon, meta, google, Twitter and McDonald’s announced layoffs. A segment was on the today show about the acquisition of sequence but never mentioned layoffs which was 4000 people and you all remember they laid off b4 and never was mentioned on the news. Not to mention they closed studios and ones that are left to smaller venues that could not hold a lot of people. Both CEOs past and present only care about shareholders and not members. I bet Oprah happy now reaping on her shares of the company. To all the wonderful coaches and members who lost their studios and community I am sorry. Hopefully this will complete fail for WW and some other company will purchase it.
Was an employee for 21 1/2 hears and to be let go after being told in person workshops are here to stay. Build a community for the members, which we did. For what, to pull the rug out from under them and us. So many workshops closed and fantastic employees let go. So much for tenure, experience, etc. Now no response to my attempts to contact payroll for my missing pay from my last check!!! Guess what is next?!!
I was a Leader/Coach for 35 years. Loved what I did and my members had great success obtaining their goal and Lifetime. I was among the 4,000 employees terminated BUT the newer ones were kept on. I can't get my head around keeping a new Coach who never made goal and never experienced maintenance to achieve Lifetime! Welcome to the new WW. Where the staff are frauds!
WeightWatchers is headed for disaster! The past two CEO have been the most disappointing executive women ever. The company has gone “woke” and will now grow broke!
I give the company less than 5 yrs. at most….. The founder of the once reputable, healthy path to weight loss has now joined big pharma in it’s pursuit to weight loss through a “magic shot” that a person who gets it will need it regularly for the rest of their life at the tune that f big $$$$.
I cancelled my WW membership because if this. My workshop location (2meetings) had 25 members plus every meeting
Absolutely terrible!!!! So many wonderful coaches that have been working for many many years have been fired, while the newly hired ones have been kept on. They have been trained by the best coaches only to find out that they are all fired.
After 12 years as an employee, a 5 minute phone call and I felt like I was discarded like yesterday's newspaper. The week prior over 7 hours in training to allow us to better serve members on CHAT, then BO-M! WW buys a pharmaceutical company for over 130 million, and then closes it's locations and lays off employees. Jean Nidetch must be rolling in her grave. The left wing liberals that are running the company along with Oprah have destroyed a once reputable company. While they may have given me the WW app free for life, I will be removing it from my phone. Until Weight Watchers can pull their head out of the sand, they have lost many loyal customers. I gave Noom a try and it's great to see your daily Calorie break down instead of hiding behind points. To Sima, shame on you! You came in and were blowing smoke about in person is so important and lets open more. The layoffs are on your head. But I bet that doesn't matter to you at your $200,000+ yearly salary as you fly around the US and stay in fancy hotels on WW's money.
Laid off after more than 16 years - along with many other “ older” workers -who have been paid poorly but have been committed to the original mission -to help and coach members to healthy eating and wellness - wondering why the PRESS covers the acquisition on Sequence which is the antithesis of WW mission - and not the recent layoff ? WW will never be successful due to lack of leadership- they should have had a better strategy when they started building out real estate even before COVID - it was not sustainable as a business even then
I’m going to quit. Lousy now. Had best coach for group. Professional way beyond what WW deserves. Devoted world class and you LAY-OFF? So long
Bye bye WW. I’m a free Lifetime member but losing my incredible coaches, closing meeting locations, doing away with local virtual coaches, changing plans every 2 years and now partnering with a company that prescribes medication through telemedicine! No blood tests. I took the quiz on Sequence and it’s easy to lie to get meds.
The CEO, Sima, has a background in social media, not health. Dr Gary Foster is not a medical doctor.
Corporate greed at its worst. This is sad beyond words.
I can only hope that WW is acquired / taken over by an ethical company one day after it fails from these bad practices.
I have a feeling that this will backfire and that what they will loose is their credibility
WW corporate should be ashamed . I have been a member many years . The support from leaders and members has proved invaluable ohysically and mentally. U can’t feel good about this. Laying off these leaders who helped so many is awful u didn’t give them any notice u don’t even know who they are and now u will make others drive over 40 miles to the meetings that are not closed u will never feel the pain we do
This is one less member of WW. This is my 3rd meeting location that has been canceled. The philosophy behind WW of “healthy living” is a joke. Let them sell their dr-gs. After everyone discontinues their membership see where they are financially. Very very sad.
My wife has worked for WW for 20 years. She has helped 1000's of people improve their health. A few years ago I became disabled and we have counted on her health insurance to help us not lose our home of 30 years. One 5 minute phone call changed all that and an email that was promised (with the details of her severence) still has not arrived. We are no longer covered as of the end of the month,
These people are classless and cruel. The work my wife has done over two decades has been fantastic and well received. The employees deserve better and I don't know how a customer can remain given the state of things now. The love is gone. All that is left is greed and cruelty.
My workshop closed so I drove farther. Now my new one is closing too. The staff told me 80% of employees were fired. Who is paying the bills? We are! So now I’m supposed to drive way out to the suburbs just to find a meeting? That is not serving the customers. The staff deserve your appreciation and support, NOT an unexpected firing despite their best work and loyalty.
It’s going to be something WW regrets. . They also closed local virtual meetings and 100’s of in person workshops to help pay for it. Many members are furious. They think it’s wrong to have a Dr that doesn’t know your history prescribe meds. Especially meds that are in short supply for diabetics. We have been paying them for years under their teachings to keep having in there. Keep drinking water , sleeping , exercising and eating healthy and you will be at goal. There is no magic pill only hard work. SMH our meetings become like family. Now they want us to join huge impersonal 200-300 person zoom meetings.
As a current member(until Sunday forthcoming), I am insulted that a company built on community couldn't care less for the community that paid for these "new" tools... These cuts are life changing , and in a bad way. For some this is life or death. Corporate hasn't a clue . The staff has been abandoned, just like those members that believed in the philosophy and support.
Why else would a corporation close down an entire borough's community. An entire borough!
WW is going to bleed worse than they say they had been...
It's amazing mass terminations didnt make the news just the business deal to buy into big pharma ...not that it's being paid for on the backs of thousands of employees.
WW led us to believe we were building are in person Workshops back. Lots of new mandatory training BLAH, BLAH, BLAH. Come for the program stay for the people.
Unfortunately, firing or laying off staff whether FTE or not will only go so far.
Eventually, the elephant in the room will need to be addressed.
I'm just devastated. I'm quit you MF's!
Worked for WW 20+years and was shocked to hear they have purchased Sequence. The use of wt loss medications has always been NOT supported in our philosophy and mission. Disgustingl! Then to fire 4000 dedicated employees including myself. Ww is sinking to new lows ( if that's possible). Worst company ever to work for from the corporate level!! Totally appalling what they have done!!
4,000 actually, 30% of employees!