From Body Positivity To Weight Loss Pills: Who Killed Jenny Craig?

Source: Joe Raedle / Getty

Jenny Craig is dead — and no, it wasn’t cholesterol that drove the 40-year weight loss empire into an early grave.

While the company’s namesake entrepreneur is still very much alive at 90 years old, her once-popular nutrition company hasn’t been as lucky after a social media post was sent out directly from the brand last week to confirm the shutting down of all Jenny Craig operations.

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The cancellation of auto-delivery subscriptions, coaching sessions, food orders, merchandise sales and the liquidation of all Jenny Craig corporate centers all went into motion effective immediately following the announcement. As CNN stated, the decision was preempted by a previous story which detailed company-wide layoffs that would’ve left roughly 1,000 people without a job. Now, that number will include the reported entire 3,000+ current Jenny Craig employees.

Read below to see how disgruntled former staff members of Jenny Craig have decided to react, including how the WARN Act is playing a role in future litigations, via CBS:

“Jenny Craig employees are seeking to join a class-action lawsuit alleging the company violated federal and state WARN Acts, which require companies to give employees a 60-day notice ahead of any mass layoffs or facility closures.

The lawsuit was filed in the New Jersey District Court on May 4, two days after the company sent an email to its employees announcing it would fully close. The WARN Act requires companies with 100 full-time employees or more to notify both the local and state governments, as well as its employees, 60 days before mass layoffs or closures. The complaint estimates hundreds of employees could be covered by the lawsuit.

Some Jenny Craig employees received a WARN Act notice on April 25. One week later, Jenny Craig told its employees it would close the entire company by May 5.”

JC is said to be $250 million in debt and was looking for a buyer prior to the bankruptcy filing. However, there’s still some debate on what factor(s) led them to a quarter-billion-dollar deficit. The pandemic surely played a part, but that was three years ago and hasn’t seemed to deter its competitors on the market. Actually, Nutrisystem took the opportunity to scoop up clients from the opps; a Google search of “Jenny Craig” includes a top link from the fellow weight loss company that reads, “J.Craig is Closing – Make the Switch to Nutrisystem.” Nasty work!

Then there’s the main culprit that is believed to have started the decline of Jenny Craig: weight loss pills. As CNN also stated, diabetic drugs like Wegovy, Ozempic and Rybelsus also double as proven weight loss supplements as they trigger the release of insulin that helps lower blood sugar. Fellow Jenny Craig competitor WeightWatchers is said to already be looking into their own branded prescription weight-loss drugs.

One other factor that is up for debate is, well, many people out there are proud at whatever weight makes them happy. Westernized beauty standards have been changing with each generation, with the latest Gen-Zers coining the term “Body Positivity” to proudly show off their curves, guts and develop true love for their love handles. Sorry, Jen!

So, what killed Jenny Craig as a company? Let us know your thoughts on this, and see what the masses on social media had to say below about the dearly departed weight loss program:

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