Reports indicate Jawbone is selling speaker business [Updated]

UPDATE: June 1, 2016, 12:46 p.m. EDT Jawbone has confirmed in a blog post that it is NOT stopping production of its Up fitness tracker. The article has been updated to reflect this most r

According to two new reports, Jawbone is having some major problems.

Fortune on Friday reported that Jawbone is trying to sell-off its speaker business. The company might be best known for its fitness trackers, but it got its start selling phone headsets and, later, Bluetooth speakers.

Fortune says Jawbone is working to liquidate its speakers from its inventory and retail channels. A visit to Jawbone’s website shows prominent information about the Up fitness tracker but absolutely no mention of its other products. In fact, its speakers are only visible on the “shop” page and the Big Jambox and Mini Jambox are being sold at deeply discounted prices.

Also on Friday, Tech Insider  reported the company has slowed production on its Up fitness tracker and started selling off inventory to third-party resellers. 

When reached for comment, a Jawbone spokesperson told Mashable that it “wasn’t commenting on the speculations made in the reports today but we can say with certainty that we are not selling our fitness tracker business.”

Jawbone has since further clarified the situation. In a statement, the company reaffirmed that "speculation that Jawbone is exiting the wearables business or going out of business altogether is false."

On its blog on Wednesday, June 1, Jawbone, Jawbone CEO Hosain Rahman wrote:

To be clear, Jawbone remains wholly committed to innovating in and building great wearables products. We have never been more excited about our pipeline of technology and products and look forward to sharing them with the world when ready.

We have always managed our inventory positions according to internal business processes and strategic product lifecycle objectives. This situation is no different and we will continue to support all of our products. UP2, UP3 and UP4 are still hugely popular and continue to sell well. We’re also continually inspired by stories of how our UP® community is using our products to live better.

Jawbone is committed to staying in the wearables business

That statement isn’t necessarily at odds with all of Tech Insider’s report. In fact, Rahman's statement indicates that the reports of inventory sell-off are true. Still, it is equally clear that Jawbone is committed to staying in the wearables business.

Once a tech darling, Jawbone has struggled over the year or so. In November, the company laid off 15% of its global staff and closed its New York office.

And although the company raised $165 million in January, it did so at a valuation that was half of its previous raise in April 2015.

Although its fitness trackers are well-regarded by users, Jawbone has faced significant challenges in the space from Fitbit, Apple and Xiaomi.

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