The struggling genetic testing firm 23andMe says it’ll reduce 40% of its workforce, or 200 jobs, because it fights for survival.
The once-popular DNA-testing web site may even halt work on therapies it was creating.
Final yr, the corporate stated hackers had managed to acquire entry to private data of hundreds of thousands of its customers.
23andMe’s share value has fallen by greater than 70% this yr, as its co-founder and chief government Anne Wojcicki tries to show the enterprise round.
The corporate stated it expects to incur one-off prices of $12m (£9.3m), together with severance pay, for the plan that can end in financial savings of $35m.
“We’re taking these troublesome however essential actions as we restructure 23andMe and give attention to the long-term success of our core shopper enterprise and analysis partnerships,” Ms Wojcicki stated.
The corporate additionally stated it’s contemplating what to do with the therapies it had in growth, together with licensing or promoting them.
23andMe is a huge of the rising ancestor-tracing trade. It gives genetic testing from DNA, with ancestry breakdown and personalised well being insights.
In December final yr, 23andMe confirmed that hackers had accessed particulars of about 6.9 million of its customers.
In some circumstances this included household timber, beginning years and geographic areas, the corporate stated. However the stolen knowledge didn’t embody DNA information, it stated.
Its clients included well-known names, from rapper Snoop Dogg to multi-billionaire investor Warren Buffett.
