23andMe cuts 40% of staff in restructuring

23andMe announced on Monday it would cut 40% of its workforce, representing more than 200 employees, as part of a restructuring at the company. The genetic testing company is also discontinuing its therapeutics business and winding down its clinical trials; it expects these changes to save $35 million annually.

“We are taking these difficult but necessary actions as we restructure 23andMe and focus on the long-term success of our core consumer business and research partnerships,” said CEO and co-founder Anne Wojcicki in a press release. “I want to thank our team for their hard work and dedication to our mission.”

On Tuesday, 23andMe reported $44 million in revenue during the second quarter, a decline from $50 million during the same period last year.

The mass workforce reductions mark the latest disruption in a tumultuous year for 23andMe. In September, 23andMe’s entire board of directors — including Silicon Valley icons such as YouTube CEO Neal Mohan — resigned following Wojcicki’s attempt to take the company private in August.

To start 2024 off, 23andMe was trying to save its reputation after a massive cyberattack, in which hackers stole ancestry data on 6.9 million users.

On a personal level, this has also been a difficult year for Anne Wojcicki, whose sister died in August. Susan Wojcicki was the longtime CEO of YouTube, and many people in Silicon Valley saw her as a visionary.

On Tuesday, 23andMe’s stock was slightly up, ending the day at $4.71 a share, but still significantly down from its 2021 high, which at one point reached over $300.