Gwyneth Paltrows Goop suffers second round of layoffs in latest setback for A-listers wellness empire

Gwyneth Paltrows wellness empire Goop has implemented a second round of layoffs in just two months.

The cuts made in late October account for around 15 people which equates to less than 6 percent of staff across several divisions, including the beauty, programming, engineering, and creative departments. 

In September about 40 people were cut from the 216-person strong staff, accounting for 18 percent of the e-commerce site.

The goal of the cuts is to optimize operational efficiency and revenue growth in our key verticals of beauty and fashion, a Goop spokesperson told Business Insider.

Gwyneth Paltrow s wellness empire Goop has endured the second round of layoffs in just two months

Actress and Goop founder Gwyneth Paltrow, who is also the CEO, said that the layoffs had put Goop back in growth mode - but it appears that there was more cuts to be made

Actress and Goop founder Paltrow, who is also the CEO, said that the layoffs had put Goop back in growth mode - but it appears that there was still more cuts to be made.

Few details exist on just how solvent the company is with a spokesperson simply stating that revenue grew year on year in 2023 with 2024 looking like another year of growth.

The spokesperson said Goop Beauty revenue had increased 21 percent compared to last year compared to a massive 42 per cent boost in 2023, while G. Label revenue is up 45 percent. 

The last round of cuts occurred in 2021 when its believed at least 140 employees, including high-level execs including a chief financial officer, chief technology officer and chief risk officer, left the company over a period of two years.

While the pandemic accounted for some staffing loss, ex-staffers noted how Goops high turnover problem predated COVID-19 layoffs, and that stingy pay, a taxing culture, and the Academy Award winners habit of picking favorites and then seemingly changing her mind were the causes. 

Few details exist on just how solvent the company is with a spokesperson simply stating that revenue grew year on year in 2023 with 2024 looking like another year of growth

Goop will now focus on the in-house clothing brand G. Label, beauty lines Goop Beauty and Good Clean Goop, and the start up of Goop Kitchen, a restaurant that only delivers takeout

Other ex-employees who griped about the company on Glassdoor also slammed the bullies and mean girls who rely on fear-based management, saying Paltrow in particular was wanting to spend her days trying on clothes when the company desperately needed a real CEO. 

The company now appears to be in the midst of restructuring, with a sharper focus on beauty, food, and fashion.

It includes the in-house clothing brand G. Label, beauty lines Goop Beauty and Good Clean Goop, and the start up of Goop Kitchen, a restaurant that only delivers takeout.

When the company launched 16 years go as a weekly newsletter, it seemed to generate fans and critics in equal measure with some eyebrow raising products including sex dust and libido boosting supplements, vampire repellent and scented candles, one of which was billed as smelling like Paltrows orgasm.

The actress had famously listed a $75 candle, cheekily named This Smells Like My Vagina, for sale in her online Goop shop and revealed that the geranium, citrus bergamot and cedar scented candle originally started as a joke. 

The company now appears to be in the midst of restructuring, with a sharper focus on beauty, food, and fashion

The actor famously listed a candle named This Smells Like My Vagina on her online Goop shop

According to the products description: This candle started as a joke between perfumer Douglas Little and GP—the two were working on a fragrance, and she blurted out, Uhhh..this smells like a vagina—but evolved into a funny, gorgeous, sexy, and beautifully unexpected scent. 

The actress had also previously advised readers to purchase a $15,000 24k gold vibrator and vaginal jade eggs. 

But Paltrow has seemingly had no trouble pulling in the big bucks having raised more than $140 million in capital from blue-chip firms

Paltrow has that she started to feel uncomfortable accepting so much venture capital funding. 

You start fielding questions about scale, especially if youve taken VC money. And thats where I think it can be very, very difficult. And frankly, where Ive made mistakes along the way, she said during a Forbes conference in September.