Global weight loss company Jenny Craig to shut its doors after four decades 

Australian-founded weight loss company Jenny Craig is reportedly about to close after four decades in the business.

The company, which was founded by an Australian woman Jenny Craig, sent an email to is US-based employees saying it will close ‘due to its inability to secure additional financing’ – it is understood to be in around $250million of debt.

It is not yet clear what this means for Jenny Craig’s operations in Australia.

All of the company’s US and Canadian employees will lose their jobs by Friday, with many having already gone.  

Jenny Craig ran around 500 company-owned and franchised outlet in the United States and Canada, employing more than 1,000 people, NBC reported.

In a notice sent to employees on Tuesday, Jenny Craig said it is ‘winding down physical operations, likely transitioning to an e-commerce model’.

However, Bloomberg reported last week that the firm is considering filing for bankruptcy altogether, as it fails to deal with $250million of debt.

The weight loss industry has been rocked recently by the rise of weight loss drugs such as Ozempic. 

Last month, WeightWatchers bought a digital health firm that offers virtual appointments with doctors who can prescribe such drugs. 

‘Like many other companies, we’re currently transitioning from a brick-and-mortar retail business to a customer-friendly, e-commerce driven model. We will have more details to share in the coming weeks as our plans are solidified,’ CEO and President of Jenny Craig Mandy Dowson told Bloomberg. 

The company, which was founded in Australia in 1983 by Jenny Craig and her husband Sidney, sells a program that offers nutritionally balanced diets designed to help people lose weight. 

The company expanded into the US in 1985. 

More to come…