Theranos, a blood-testing company that has been surrounded in controversy, is laying off hundreds of employees.
Elizabeth Holmes, CEO and founder of Theranos, announced the Theranos layoffs in an open letter to investors of the company. She said that the company will be closing its clinical labs and Theranos Wellness Centers. This will result in 340 employees in Arizona, California, and Pennsylvania losing their jobs.
“We are profoundly grateful to these team members, many of whom have devoted years to Theranos and our mission, for their commitment to our company and our guests,” Holmes said in her open letter.
The company said that it will be shifting focus after completing the Theranos layoffs. It will now being working on its miniLab platform. It wants to commercialize these labs and is looking to obtain approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The company will also be attempting to obtain publications in scientific journals.
The Theranos Wellness Centers that are being closed were part of an agreement with Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc (NASDAQ:WBA). Walgreens officially cut ties with the blood-testing company back in June and had halted the roll out of more of the Wellness Centers late last year.
The Theranos layoffs come about a year after it landed in hot water when a report from The Wall Street Journal revealed that the company wasn’t using its own blood-testing machines in its Wellness Centers. An investigation by the FDA followed and Holmes was banned from operating a blood-testing business for two years. The company also faced a criminal probe.
