Mindbody lays off hundreds of San Luis Obispo employees

April 2, 2020

Mindbody, one of the largest employers in San Luis Obispo, laid off or furloughed hundreds of county residents via emails sent at 5 a.m. on Thursday morning.

In early 2019, Mindbody, a publicly traded company that sells software for managing health and wellness businesses, merged with Vista, a private equity firm. At the time, CEO Rick Stollmeyer told employees that there would be no layoffs because of the $1.9 billion merger.

Stollmeyer’s Thursday morning email:

“These are unprecedented times. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused many of our customers to temporarily close their doors or significantly reduce services. For Mindbody to survive this world crisis and the resulting economic downturn – and after considering all possible scenarios — we have made the incredibly difficult decision to reduce our workforce throughout our global offices. We have made millions of dollars in expense reductions. This was not enough. Unfortunately, this includes your position, effective today.

“We regret having to share this news with you in an email, which is obviously less than ideal. In reviewing the options we had to inform our affected team members, we chose this method because we wanted to reach all impacted team members as quickly as we could. Had we informed each team member via a live, individual meeting, some team members may have been waiting up to eight hours or more to learn how they have been individually impacted. You will, however, have the opportunity to meet with a member of your leadership team. Please use this link to select an appointment time should you choose to have a follow-up meeting being sure to use your personal email address to set up your account.

“Information is included with this email to assist in your transition from Mindbody. In addition, career transition resources will be sent to your personal email address. To further assist in your career transition period, you will be eligible to receive a severance package. Details regarding the terms of your package will be sent in a separate email to your personal email address. Please ensure we have your up-to-date personal email address for Severance and Exit packets by confirming your personal email address here.

“We want you to know that these measures have been taken across the company and are not a reflection of your performance or of our appreciation for what you have contributed.

“Thank you for all you have done for Mindbody. Your contributions are valued and have made us who we are. Mindbody team members are the heart of our business, and we deeply appreciate the contributions you have made to our company. We hope that you and your loved ones are healthy and safe.

“Sincerely, Rick Stollmeyer”