Jawbone lays off 15% of Workforce, Closed NY Office As part of "streamlining"

Fitness tracker makers Jawbone laid off some 60 employees, which is 15 percent of their workforce, and it has closed down its New York office as a part of its strategy to cut cost.

Tech Crunch reported that the move is a part a wider "streamlining." It also downsized its satellite operations in Sunnyvale and Pittsburgh. There is no news, however, if the company will cut any of its product lines. This means, the company will still sell their Jambox speakers and Era headsets.

"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," said a Jawbone spokesperson. "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."

In an interview with Bloomberg, Forrester vice president and analyst Julie Ask said that the market competition for wearable technology is not an easy one. She said, a lot of the data from the technology has been commoditized. The recorded number of steps made by the user can be connected to another software to determine the person's health condition. It can also be very useful for insurance companies. However, Jawbone is more inclined to servicing people who have decided to stay healthy, which is a very small part of the population.

According to The Verge, Jawbone has been doing a lot of effort to cut cost since June. Before the 60 employees the other day, the company also laid off 20 people, or 4 percent of its workers, mid-year in 2015.

Meanwhile, Jawbone will be focusing its attention on its product, R&D and marketing on a range of UP fitness trackers.