Jawbone lays off 15 percent of staff and closes its New York office

By Julian Chokkattu November 20, 2015

jawbone layoff new york office closed up2 80 — Image used with permission by copyright holder

San Francisco-based company Jawbone, which makes fitness trackers and portable speakers such as the Jambox, is laying off 15 percent of its global staff, which is around 60 people. The company also shut down its New York office, reports TechCrunch.

Jawbone is undergoing a reorganization in order to streamline its workforce and ensure better success. In an statement to Digital Trends, the company said no further changes were planned.

“Jawbone’s success over the past 15 years has been rooted in its ability to evolve and grow dynamically in a rapidly scaling marketplace. As part of our strategy to create a more streamlined and successful company, we have made the difficult decision to reorganize the company which has had an impact on our global workforce,” Jawbone said. “We are sad to see colleagues go, but we know that these changes, while difficult for those impacted, will set us up for greater success.”

The company has been cutting costs since earlier this year, when it laid off 20 people. Along with today’s announcement of the shut down of its New York office, the company is also scaling back its Sunnyvale and Pittsburgh facilities, according to TechCrunch.

Jawbone had some trouble with its UP3 fitness tracker earlier this year, when the company was unable to ship it at the promised time due to quality assurance concerns. The company is also engaged in a legal battle with Fitbit, and just filed a countersuit case, denying Fitbit’s patent infringement allegations.

Jawbone is still pursuing three of its own prior legal actions against Fitbit, claiming patent infringement, stolen trade secrets, and an ITC injunction, according to TechCrunch. It’s unclear how much legal battles have inspired the company’s recent cost-cutting measures and what the future holds for Jawbone.

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Julian Chokkattu

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Julian is the mobile and wearables editor at Digital Trends, covering smartphones, fitness trackers, smartwatches, and more…

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