24 Hour Fitness, which has kept its gyms shuttered since March due to the coronavirus pandemic, has filed for bankruptcy.
On Monday, the fitness chain announced that it was “implementing a financial restructuring, through a voluntary Chapter 11 filing.”
“This process gives us the opportunity to reposition 24 Hour Fitness by eliminating debt and closing clubs that were either out-of-date or in close proximity with other 24 Hour Fitness clubs,” the company wrote in a statement shared on its website.
CEO Tony Ueber pointed toward the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on the company’s decision.
"If it were not for COVID-19 and its devastating effects, we would not be filing for Chapter 11," he said in a statement, while maintaining hope about the company's future. “We expect to have substantial financing with a path to restructuring our balance sheet and operations to ensure a resilient future. The COVID-19 environment has proved that attention to health and fitness are more important now than ever before.”
Although the company still plans to reopen many clubs across the county by the end of June, it will also permanently close over 130 gyms. The majority of the gyms affected by the closures are in California and Texas. When reached for comment by Business Insider, a company representative declined to comment on how many employees would be affected by the decision.
While clubs are in the process of reopening, all club members will be granted access to any 24 Hour Fitness location near them through the end of 2020.
24 Hour Fitness will also be adopting a number of safety precautions, including a reservation system for workouts, touch-free check-ins as well as strict cleaning and social distancing guidelines.
24 Hour Fitness is not the first company of its kind to declare bankruptcy in recent months.
Gold’s Gym announced its filing in May, saying that the global health crisis had caused them to “take immediate action.” Although the chain had previously announced they were permanently closing 30 locations, they said that their remaining 700 locations would remain open during the restructuring process.
Fitness chain YogaWorks announced in April that it would be permanently closing all of its New York City locations.
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