Home-improvement platform Houzz, which lets its users plan and execute home-renovation projects, has laid off staff in the UK, Germany and in its home market in the USA.
The firm, which is reportedly worth $4 billion (£3bn) and preparing to list on the stock market, confirmed to news website TechCrunch that it has laid off 110 workers in Europe and 70 in the USA.
A spokesman told kbbreview: “We restructured our international workforce, primarily in our UK and Berlin offices, so that we can double down on the areas that will have the greatest impact for Houzz.
“We continue hiring for and investing in our UK and international operations. We are working to introduce as many new opportunities as possible so that those affected can apply and transition to other positions within the company.
“We have exciting news coming, specific to the UK, that I look forward to sharing with you soon.”
Meanwhile, Houzz has also revealed that it suffered a data breach and has urged those affected to change their passwords.
The company said in an FAQ on its website that the breach was discovered in late December last year, and that “a file containing some of our user data was obtained by an unauthorised third party”.
Once its security team became aware of the issue, it “immediately” launched an investigation with assistance from a leading forensics firm.
It said it also notified US law enforcement authorities, as well as affected customers. It is not clear whether the data breach was limited to US users, or affected its global customer base.