HDL cuts staff by 132 people, or about 15 percent of its workforce

Health Diagnostic Laboratory Inc. said Tuesday that it is cutting its staff by 132 people, or about 15 percent of its work force nationwide.

“We deeply regret the business necessity that made this reduction in force necessary, and we are all mindful that this will pose difficulties and challenges for our former colleagues and their families. At the same time, these necessary changes provide us with the opportunity to re-energize our company — one with a sharp focus on our core mission as we forge a new future for HDL Inc., ’’Joe McConnell, the company’s CEO said in a statement.

In recent years, HDL had become involved in a number of non-core business interests that McConnell said required significant time, attention and resources. “The need to reallocate our resources to return to our core mission is what led to the reduction in force.”

That mission, he said, is to fight cardiovascular disease and diabetes with innovative cutting-edge, advanced laboratory testing that can lead to earlier diagnosis and treatment.

McConnell, one of the company’s cofounders, took over as CEO in September, after another co-founder, Tonya Mallory, resigned. She stepped down, citing family reasons, shortly after the Wall Street Journal published an unflattering front-page story about a federal probe into HDL.

The company is under scrutiny as part of a federal investigation into reimbursement practices in the clinical laboratory industry. The company also is being sued by Connecticut-based health insurer Cigna, which seeks to recover $84 million in insurance claims paid to HDL.

Tuesday’s reduction in force follows an earlier move by HDL in August when it let about 30 people go.

Founded in 2009, the company quickly ramped up and was one of the fastest growing companies in the Richmond region, with a local staff of about 750, and a total staff of about 850.