Dodge Center, Minnesota-based McNeilu Truck, a s manufacturer os specialty concrete transport and refuse collection vehicles. has announced that it will be structuring to respond to marketplace demand and to explore additional opportunities. Over 200 employees will be impacted as the company shifts concrete mixer production to the company's other facilities.
According to a company spokesperson, "We have made multiple announcements that are part of our strategy to strengthen our business and optimize our core business platforms toward continued market growth and leadership. We will be consolidating the production of concrete mixers from our Dodge Center facility into our other North American mixer production facilities. Additionally, we announced the sale of our CON-E-CO business.
"This will allow us to unlock capacity so we can expand world-class manufacturing in Dodge Center for refuse collection vehicles, superior customer experiences and support as well as mixer research & development."
"As we continually evaluate our businesses to ensure our products, services and industries align with our strategic vision, we believe these changes will allow us to even better serve our customers and tailor our investments to best meet the needs of the future."
"These changes will have an impact team members. These decisions are never easy to make but are in the long term best interest of the Company. We are committed to supporting our those impacted team members with a comprehensive transition program including outplacement assistance and coordination with the Minnesota Workforce Development to assist with their job search."
Change is coming. There will always be a tomorrow, no matter how much you may try to ignore it. There are no guarantees in life or promises for a bright future. Just because something bad hasn't happened yet, doesn't mean it won't. It can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere. No one is guaranteed to wake up tomorrow and still have a job by evening. Are you now wondering, Am I Next?
AM I NEXT? NO LOVE AT WW/WEIGHT WATCHERS (05/06/25)
MAY 6, 2025 — BANKRUPTCY
WW International, Inc., the global leader in science-backed weight management, and certain of its affiliates, announced today that it will implement a financial reorganization transaction that will bolster its financial position, increase investment flexibility in its strategic growth initiatives, and better serve its millions of members around the world.
The Transaction will eliminate $1.15 billion in debt from the Company’s balance sheet, and position WeightWatchers for long-term growth and success. With this improved financial foundation, the Company is well equipped to execute its transformation plan, which includes innovating its digital and member experience and accelerating the expansion of its telehealth business which delivered 57% year-over-year revenue growth in Q1 2025.
WeightWatchers remains fully operational during the reorganization process and there will be no impact to members or the plans they rely on to support their weight management goals. WeightWatchers’ holistic model of care—including its no. 1 doctor-recommended weight loss program, telehealth offering with access to obesity-trained clinicians and prescription weight-loss medications, and virtual and in-person workshops—remain fully operational during the reorganization process. All trade creditors and other general unsecured creditors will be paid in full. Additionally, the Company intends to remain a publicly traded company upon emergence from the process.
The agreement entered into is between WeightWatchers and holders of approximately 72% of the outstanding principal amount of the Company’s term loan facility, revolving credit facility, and 4.5% senior secured notes, who have committed their support for the Transaction. To effectuate the Transaction, WeightWatchers has voluntarily initiated “pre-packaged” chapter 11 cases in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. The Company expects to move through this process swiftly, with the goal of emerging from the court-supervised reorganization process in approximately 45 days, if not sooner.
FEBRUARY 18, 2025 — BIG TROUBLE AHEAD?
WW International and advisors to its lenders have reportedly taken a step toward discussing potentially restructuring the company’s debt as an alternative to bankruptcy.
As contained within an SEC 8 filing, “We continue to actively evaluate our capital structure and intend to explore transactions to strengthen our balance sheet and increase our financial flexibility. We look forward to engaging with our lenders and bondholders in the coming months.”
It appears that the key obstacle to profitability is the widespread use of weight loss drugs which produce dramatic results in short time periods.
MAY 27, 2020 — Original post…
New York, New York-based WW, formerly Weightwatchers, a company dedicated to assisting individuals in losing weight and improving their lifestyle, is continuing to restructure the company to broaden its focus from weight loss to lifestyle and wellness as well as reposition the company as a technology-based enterprise.
The company recently conducted a mass layoff, estimated by some, to include thousands of part-time and full-time employees. The company acknowledges the reduction in force but refuses to disclose further details. What was different was the extent to which the company used voice-only Zoom calls to inform the employees of the bad news.
While WW CEO Nick Hotchkin declined to state the number of employees laid off or the number of employees terminated by Zoom calls, he did comment, “It wasn’t practical to have all of the conversations be one on one. Even as we start a phased reopening of some of our locations, we know our business will continue to be impacted by this crisis. That was the context in which we decided to restructure our studio business, and make substantial changes to our corporate structure and workforce.”
Prior to the Chinese Virus pandemic which curtailed significant customer interaction with nation-wide group leaders, the company was attempting to position itself as a technology company with a content-rich platform and technology-enabled interaction with its client base. The company has previously announced a target of $100 million in cost savings that included a reduction in force, salary cuts, and a reorganization of a labor-intensive operation to one that benefited from increased automation.
According to the company's earnings call to investors...
"WW is a technology company delivering a human experience. Our transformation from primarily offline to a digitally enabled experience has been underway for several years, with all members enjoying the tools, features, content and connect community available in the WW app. In mid-March to ensure the health and safety of our members and our coaches, we proactively pivoted from in-person workshops for our global studio members, which represent approximately 25% of our overall membership to an entirely virtual experience. Over six days sprint, our studio operations, technology and digital product teams developed a solution for our coaches to host their workshops virtually. We trained over 14,000 coaches and guides globally for virtual workshop, and created Connect groups for each studio, so that members can continue to engage with each other, inside the WW ecosystem in between workshop. The move to virtual workshops has accelerated our digital first strategy. While face-to-face experiences will always be a core part of WW, we are strategically repositioning our studio business to have a smaller real estate footprint with fewer locations."
The company has struggled in recent years from declining participation, changing consumer tastes, and the proliferation of free and engaging diet and wellness apps.
Change is coming. There will always be a tomorrow, no matter how much you may try to ignore it. There are no guarantees in life or promises for a bright future. Just because something bad hasn't happened yet, doesn't mean it won't. It can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere. No one is guaranteed to wake up tomorrow and still have a job by evening. Are you now wondering, Am I Next?
AM I NEXT? NO LOVE AT SAGE THERAPEUTICS (06/29/25)
JUNE 29, 202 — 338 EMPLOYEES IN POST-ACQUISITION PURGE
In a post-sale purge, the company plans to lay off 338 employees, the majority of its workforce, on August 22, 2025. The company was acquired by Supernus Pharmaceuticals, a Rockville, Maryland-based company that develops and commercializes treatments for central nervous system diseases.
OCTOBER 19, 2024 — 165 EMPLOYEES TARGETED
The company is continuing its restructuring program and will lay off 165 employees, or 33% of its total workforce, as part of a reorganization plan.
CEO Barry Greene noted, “We are being deliberate and purposeful in our efforts to reorganize the company with the goal of having the flexibility to execute immediate priorities and build for long-term growth and value creation. This is difficult but necessary, and we believe it will right-size Sage for future growth potential. This move allows for continued focused investment in the ongoing launch of Zurzuvae for women with postpartum depression and the development of our prioritized portfolio.”
SEPTEMBER 15, 2023 — 40% OF THE COMPANY’S WORKFORCE, APPROXIMATELY 290 EMPLOYEES TARGETED
Sage Therapeutics committed to a plan to reorganize the company’s business operations and pipeline priorities in order to support goals for long-term business growth. As part of the reorganization, the Company plans to focus its development efforts on its product candidates SAGE-718 and SAGE-324, pause certain earlier-stage programs, implement a reduction of the Company’s workforce by approximately 40%, and align its leadership team structure to scale with its pipeline and commercial priorities.”
The decision was driven by the FDA’s decision to not approve Sage’s clinical depression drug.
APRIL 15, 2020 — Original post…
Cambridge, Massachsetts-based Sage Therapeutics, a company developing novel therapies for brain disorders, has announced that it will be laying off approximately 340 employees or a reduction in headcount of approximately 53% of the company's workforce. Most are related to the administration and the commercial operations related to the company's postpartum depression drug Zulresso.
According to a company spokesperson, "The headwinds we are facing individually and collectively, along with a recognition of our need to move forward as a company, have led to this difficult decision. We believe this cost reduction and reallocation of resources will help Sage advance our portfolio in a way that is consistent with our mission of delivering medicines that matter to people with serious brain health disorders.”
“Unfortunately, we will be saying goodbye to some of our valued colleagues and I want to thank them for their dedication to always doing what’s best for patients. Moving forward, we are confident that we have a great team that will continue to execute on our multi-franchise strategy. We believe Sage’s mission is more important than ever, especially as mental health issues are coming to the forefront and will continue to have a significant impact, even after the current phase of the pandemic.”
Part of the problem that greatly depressed the company's valuation was the negative results from late-stage trials of the company's fast-acting anti-depressant drug zuranolone. The company will use the savings from the reduction in force to launch additional zuranolone trials in the coming months.
Change is coming. There will always be a tomorrow, no matter how much you may try to ignore it. There are no guarantees in life or promises for a bright future. Just because something bad hasn't happened yet, doesn't mean it won't. It can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere. No one is guaranteed to wake up tomorrow and still have a job by evening. Are you now wondering, Am I Next?