Legendary Weight Watchers rival closes its doors for good after 40 years in business and clients are shocked

Infamous weight loss chain Jenny Craig is closing all of its stores in the United States and Canada after over 40 years in business.

The company emailed employees Tuesday that it was closing its doors, leaving many people shocked.

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Jenny Craig told employees it was closing “due to its inability to secure additional funding,” according to internal announcements verified by NBC News.

Hourly workers worked their last day on Tuesday, while white-collar workers finished on Friday.

The weight loss chain was founded in 1983 and operated about 500 stores in the United States and Canada.

It also operates locations in Australia and New Zealand, but recent closures don’t appear to be impacting business in those countries.

Jenny Craig employees told NBC News there was no sign the company was having any trouble until recent weeks.

Just a month ago, job vacancies were posted online, salary increases were given and additional training for employees was carried out.

However, last week employees of the company’s Carlsbad, California office were notified that the company would be closing that office on June 24th. However, they were also warned that it could close as early as Friday.

As the company looks to close its North American locations, it will transition to an online retail model.

“Like many other companies, we are currently transitioning from a brick-and-mortar retail store to a customer-friendly, e-commerce-driven model,” a spokesman told CNN.

Details about this model were not released, and as of Friday, Jenny Craig’s website was down.

Additionally, customers were told that “all auto-delivery subscriptions have been canceled” and that “all coaching sessions, meal orders and merchandise sales online and in corporate centers have been halted,” according to CNN.

Recent store closures have left many social media users in shock – with some surprised that the company didn’t close earlier.

Others shared their success stories from working with Jenny Craig, say they are “sad”. to see the doors closed.

“Puppy. Jenny Craig worked wonders for me while I was on the program. Started at 286 pounds in October and has managed to lose about 35 pounds so far,” according to one client tweeted.

“Sad to see it’s going and I’m not sure where I’m going to go now. But thankful they gave me a good start.”

Many others also said they were glad the company was shutting down, claiming it perpetuated body image issues or an unhealthy food culture.

“I’m not going to lie, I really forgot Jenny Craig was A Thing,” said one Twitter user wroteand added: “Hasta la vista, diet culture!”

Amid the closures, recent reports have also indicated that the company is preparing to file for bankruptcy protection.

The company currently owes about $250 million in debt.

It comes as weight loss companies like Weight Watchers and Jenny Craig have faced competition from prescription drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy, which have been used for weight loss.