The struggling genetic testing company 23andMe says it is going to lower 40% of its workforce, or 200 jobs, because it fights for survival.
The once-popular DNA-testing website can even halt work on therapies it was growing.
Final yr, the corporate mentioned hackers had managed to gain access to non-public data of tens of millions of its customers.
23andMe’s share value has fallen by greater than 70% this yr, as its co-founder and chief govt Anne Wojcicki tries to show the enterprise round.
On Tuesday, the corporate warned buyers of “substantial doubt” about its potential to proceed working, because it reported that income had fallen to $44m (£35m) between July and September in comparison with $50m in the identical interval final yr.
Losses fell to $59m from $75m.
The job cuts are anticipated to result in one-off prices of $12m, together with severance pay, for the plan that can lead to financial savings of $35m.
“We’re taking these tough however mandatory actions as we restructure 23andMe and concentrate on the long-term success of our core client enterprise and analysis partnerships,” Ms Wojcicki mentioned.
The corporate additionally mentioned it’s contemplating what to do with the therapies it had in improvement, together with licensing or promoting them.
23andMe is a big of the rising ancestor-tracing trade. It provides genetic testing from DNA, with ancestry breakdown and personalised well being insights.
Its clients embrace well-known names, from rapper Snoop Dogg to multi-billionaire investor Warren Buffett.
The corporate was valued at roughly $3.5bn when it listed on the Nasdaq inventory change in 2021 and its share value peaked at $17.65.
However they’ve since tumbled and are presently buying and selling at lower than $5.
Final December, the challenges going through 23andMe mounted after it confirmed that hackers had accessed particulars of about 6.9 million of its customers.
In some circumstances this included household bushes, beginning years and geographic areas. However the stolen information didn’t embrace DNA information, it mentioned.
The hackers logged into 23andMe accounts through the use of e-mail and password particulars beforehand uncovered by different breaches.
They downloaded not solely the info from these accounts however the non-public data of all different customers they’d hyperlinks to throughout the household bushes on the web site.
In June, information watchdogs within the UK and Canada introduced investigations into the breach.
On the time, an announcement from the UK’s Data Commissioner’s Workplace mentioned “23andMe is a custodian of extremely delicate private data, together with genetic data which doesn’t change over time.”
“This makes public belief in these companies important,” it added.
In one other blow to the corporate, seven of 23andMe’s eight-strong board resigned in September.
The agency’s unbiased administrators mentioned they’d stepped down after not receiving a passable buyout supply from Ms Wojcicki.
