Saying she was laid off as part of a company restructuring, Herbalife International of America Inc. is seeking dismissal of a lawsuit filed by a former digital executive who alleges she was wrongfully terminated as part of a two-decade pattern of discrimination and harassment of women by male corporate-level leaders.
Plaintiff Alicia Carbone also contends in her Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit that a former Herbalife CEO called her an expletive with “bad energy.” She further alleges that maintaining an alleged toxic culture is a way of doing business at the dietary supplement corporation. But in court papers filed Thursday with Judge Richard S. Kemalyan in advance of a June 29 hearing, Herbalife attorneys deny Carbone’s allegations and say her entire suit should be tossed out.
“Plaintiff attempts to recast Herbalife’s legitimate, business decision to broadly restructure its global technology team as somehow singling plaintiff out for gender discrimination and retaliation but alleges no facts to support that theory because none exist,” the Herbalife attorneys state in their court papers.
In January 2024, in a challenging economy, Herbalife initiated an organizational redesign project, precipitating a global reduction in force later that year, according to the company lawyers’ court papers. Then, Herbalife continued to examine how to streamline its operations and, in early 2025, implemented another redesign initiative, this time aimed specifically at its global technology team, the Herbalife attorneys further state in their court papers.
Herbalife first eliminated top technology positions held by two men and two women which were no longer needed to run a more streamlined technology team and Carbone held one of those positions, the Herbalife attorneys further contend in their court papers.
But in her lawsuit filed Jan. 26 alleging gender discrimination and harassment, retaliation and wrongful termination, Carbone says that ` behind (Herbalife’s) glossy marketing campaigns and public commitments to diversity lies a toxic executive culture that rewards compliance, punishes integrity and systematically retaliates against high-performing women who threaten the fraternity, a small circle of powerful chauvinists.”
The alleged offenders include a former CEO and his successor and a veteran CFO, the suit states.
“Any woman who challenges them is swiftly marginalized or forced out,” the suit alleges, while also stating that Carbone consistently fought for equal pay for women.
Carbone was hired in April 2022 into a senior executive role as part of its highly publicized digital transformation and quickly rose to senior vice president of digital and received outstanding performance reviews, according to her complaint.
During one meeting with the former CEO and his successor, Carbone asked about an element within a potential acquisition that could save Herbalife significant money, but instead of responding to the substance of her inquiry, the ex-CEO called her a “b—h” with “bad energy,” the suit alleges.
Both Carbone and the other woman in the group of four laid off were let go in February 2025 and were replaced by men, the suit states.
I worked at herbalife for 3 years and I personally have seen whatever mentioned in this article happen to the mentioned and several leaders who did not line with the bureaucracy and unethical practices that the current executive and boards team adheres to where that is favoritism, constructive dismissal and harassment by the Herbalife leadership. There has been first hand involvement of the cfo cxo in unethical conduct and financial practices with large consulting partners like EY who have relationships with the executives and directors which has created path logical and abusive work environment.