CARLSBAD, Calif. — It's the end of an era for a San Diego icon. The Jenny Craig Company is closing all locations and more than a thousand people are suddenly out of a job.
CBS 8 went to the Jenny Craig International Headquarters in Carlsbad. A few people were coming and going. No one wanted to talk on camera. One employee said that they were told not to comment. But they did speak with CBS 8 off camera and online, a couple shared their termination emails from the company.
CBS 8 saw social media posts about people getting termination emails from the company overnight. One woman posted: As of 12:01am, via email, and after 22.5 years, I am no longer an employee of Jenny Craig.
After four decades in the weight loss and nutrition business, the Jenny Craig company told employees in that overnight email it will close “due to its inability to secure additional financing”. The company told employees they will receive a "final paycheck, including your full compensation earned through your last day of work and all accrued, unused paid time off.”
There was no mention of any kind of severance pay.
The last day for hourly employees was Tuesday, May 2. Corporate and salaried employees have a job through Friday, May 5.
Just last week, Jenny Craig’s President and CEO told CBS Monday Watch in a statement, "Jenny Craig is embarking on the next phase of our business to evolve with the changing landscape of today's consumers. Like many other companies, we're currently transitioning from a brick-and-mortar retail business to a customer-friendly, e-commerce driven model."
Last week, executives at the Carlsbad office were told that the company would be closing the office on June 24 and would transition to an e-commerce model, according to the report. It was not immediately clear if those plans were still in place.
Craig, 90, opened the first Jenny Craig weight loss center with her late husband Sid in Australia in 1983. Their first U.S. center opened two years later.
The company has operated weight-loss centers locally in Carlsbad, Poway, El Cajon, Encinitas and Mission Valley.
Jenny Craig was a household name in the 2000’s and in San Diego, she has been a generous philanthropist. In 1996 Craig and her husband, Sid, donated $10 million to build the multi-use student facility at the University of San Diego. It’s called the Jenny Craig Pavilion.
In 2011, Craig put her personal Rancho Santa Fe estate up for sale. With a 10,000 square foot home, the property listed for nearly $9 million.
IN 2019, HIG Capital bought Jenny Craig. Today, the Jenny Craig link on the portfolio page of the company’s website is down. HIG Capital did not respond to requests for comment.
One employee who did talk with me off camera outside headquarters said, last week, corporate employees there got a notice that the company would close the office this summer. But she says she was stunned when she opened the termination letter that was sent out over night, from the company where she worked for more than 20 years.
On LinkedIn, you can see Jenny Craig employees out of Carlsbad posting 6 days ago that the company is downsizing and they’re looking for a job. That job search, is now accelerated.
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