Two weeks ago, a leading app and telemental health company offering self-guided care, behavioral health coaching, therapy, and EAP services, Headspace, announced a widescale layoff of 181 workers, representing 15% of its workforce. In an email response to a HIMSS reporter and quoted from a MobileHealth News article published on July 5, Headspace CEO Russell Glass explained,
With the privilege of supporting the mental health and wellbeing of millions of people around the world also comes great responsibility to focus on the health of our business and safeguard it for the future. On June 29th, we announced several important changes to our strategy and organizational structure at Headspace, including reducing the size of our workforce by 15%.
These changes will equip the company for the future and pave a strong path to profitability. We’re deeply grateful for the employees we said goodbye to and are committed to supporting them through this time of transition.
Headspace offers services directly to consumers as well as to employers. It invites users to select a mental health plan of services from its homepage for $5.83 per month or $12.99 per month. In 2021, the company merged with Ginger, an online mental health platform, in a deal that led to the valuation of the combined company at $3 billion. Since then, additional acquisitions of an artificial intelligence sleep app and a multicultural platform have raised the value of the company even higher. The company’s newsroom contains several articles about its growth, including plans for entering foreign markets.
Headspace Layoffs & Therapeutic Issues
On July 7, 2023, the Los Angeles Times carried a related Headspace layoff story that focussed primarily on the therapist and patient community’s reactions. The article explained that the most recent headspace…
