Just when it started to look like Zenefits is returning to a more or less stable course, the management team has announced its biggest staff reduction reduction to date.

The workforce management startup is laying off a full 45 percent of its employees as part of an effort to reduce costs and assume a “better position for long-term growth.” According to an internal memo published by Business Insider, the specific number of personnel who are set to be affected by the move stands at 430. About 250 of the layoffs will be made at Zenefits’ San Francisco headquarters while much of the rest, some 150 pink slips, are slated to hit its Arizona office.

The provider expects to be left with about 500 employees once all is said and done. It’s a greatly slimmed down headcount that had reached 1,600 at its height and was slowly whittled down over the past few quarters by former Zenefits Chief Executive David Sacks (pictured). The executive, who was one of the first investors in the startup, took over the reins from founder Parker Conrad a year ago to amend some managerial missteps that had hindered its growth.

Today’s cuts appear to have been his last major move at the company. According to the memo Zenefits sent out this morning, the move “been planned for some time and is the result of a lot of hard work over the past year.”

Sacks resigned earlier this week and passed over the torch to Jay Fulcher, a technology executive who previously held leadership positions at companies such as SAP SE. The company said that it will rebuild its workforce by hiring new engineers in Vancouver and Bangalore.

Today’s memo explains that “our market (small- and medium-sized businesses) is very cost sensitive and requires the lowest cost, highest value solution possible. These changes are going to allow us to continue to build and deliver the industry’s best all in one HR platform and service.”

Image: Wikipedia