Dive Brief:
- Exiting the technology and beauty company after 16 years, Amyris’ CEO and President John Melo has resigned from the positions effective immediately, according to a Monday press release.
- The Board of Directors at Amyris — which owns and operates brands including JVN, Biossance, Pipette and Rose Inc. — appointed its CFO Han Kieftenbeld as interim chief executive officer. Kieftenbeld will also remain in the CFO position.
- Amyris also announced a global reduction in its workforce “as an important step towards its previously announced cost reduction targets.” The company did not reply to Retail Dive’s inquiries about the layoffs at the time of publication.
Dive Insight:
Amyris’ latest announcements come just a few weeks after it announced that it is working with the business recovery services unit at PricewaterhouseCoopers to guide its transformation.
"We are making tough choices including the decision to implement a reduction in force which we are executing today. We thank our departing employees for their efforts, dedication and contributions to Amyris," Kieftenbeld said in a statement. "I want to thank the Board for placing confidence in me to lead Amyris through this next phase. I will work closely with my leadership team and colleagues globally to set out a path towards profitable growth and sustained cash generation."
The company’s transformation program hopes to meet a cost reduction target of about $250 million, in part from the layoffs and a simplification of its business portfolio.
Amyris’ first-quarter earnings results in May showed that core revenue decreased 3% year over year to $56.1 million and net loss increased 80% to $193.3 million.
The company saw its consumer revenue decline driven by a drop in sales from the Biossance skincare brand, because of lower marketing and media spending. First quarter direct-to-consumer sales represented 48% of total consumer revenue compared to 53% in the quarter before. Additionally, the company’s Biossance, Pipette, JVN, and Rose Inc. products were available in 15,750 stores compared to about 3,000 the year before.
