PureGym has cut 69 workers across 43 former Blink Fitness locations in New York City, trimming staff as it converts neighborhood gyms to the PureGym model with new equipment, automated access and, at many sites, a 24/7 schedule.
The tally, 69 employees at 43 sites, was first reported July 1, 2026 by Crain's New York Business. That reporting also highlighted the NoHo club at 16 E. Fourth St., a former Blink that now sports PureGym branding.
Conversion and the business case
PureGym won court approval in late 2024 to buy a large portion of Blink Fitness's assets and has spent the past year converting dozens of New York and New Jersey gyms into its lower-cost, 24/7 format, per company filings and local reporting. PureGym's corporate materials cast the deal as a key step in a U.S. expansion push, while neighborhood coverage has zeroed in on the arrival of so-called entry pods and fresh signage at multiple locations. EV Grieve
The basic bet is familiar in the fitness world: leaner staffing plus more automation and longer hours, with the hope that volume and tight margins make up the difference. For some workers, that efficiency push is now showing up as a pink slip.
Pods, safety and the member experience
The tech-heavy rollout has not been seamless. The FDNY has raised safety concerns about PureGym's new entry-and-exit pods, and CBS News reported that the department issued violations at several locations after finding exits that could require an electronic device to operate.
CBS reporting also cites members who described slow or malfunctioning pods, along with viral videos of gymgoers briefly stuck inside while waiting to be released. It is not exactly the friction-free, swipe-and-squat future the company has been pitching.
What it means locally
Industry coverage has framed PureGym's conversions as a calculated gamble on automation and razor-thin margins, a model that can reduce labor needs as the chain scales up, which helps explain why workforce cuts are surfacing during the rollout. Prism News and other trade outlets have noted that PureGym is expanding aggressively even as it sticks to a capital-efficient, tech-forward approach.
For now, New York gymgoers and workers are watching to see how the new format affects safety, staffing levels and the feel of their neighborhood gyms as PureGym continues converting former Blink clubs across the city.
