Birchbox Cuts Staff

Beauty retail startup Birchbox Inc. (New York) will be cutting 15 percent of its current staff and will suspend its Canadian operations. Bloomberg Business reports the move comes after the company’s venture capital funding has begun to dwindle.

Birchbox CEO Katia Beauchamp said in a statement that the company will use the cuts to reinvest in current opportunities and future growth, as well as attempt to reach profitability this year.

Venture capital funding for tech-based startups fell in the fourth quarter and reached its all-time low since 2011. The advent of subscription services from other companies, such as Amazon.com Inc. (Seattle) has also increased competition for the beauty retailer.