FabFitFun Lays Off 137, Slashes Production Arm

The subscription box service FabFitFun has laid off around 20% of its employees as the company looks to sharpen its "focus on areas that drive the most value" and build itself as a launchpad for brands.

The 137 cuts to its staff of 600 employees will largely come from the FabFitFunTV production team, which creates on-demand wellness videos and daily lifestyle content for subscribers that pay $50 for a curated box of products.

"We've made the decision to pull back certain initiatives and streamline our core business efforts. As a result, we've had to make the extremely difficult decision to reduce the size of our team," founders Katie Rosen Kitchens, Daniel Broukhim and Michael Broukhim said in a memo to employees on Feb. 13 that the company provided to dot.LA. FabFitFun declined to comment further.

FabFitFun is offering laid off employees severance packages and "outplacement services."

The decade old venture-backed service that's nearing a billion-dollar valuation had recently seen a growth spurt after it scored an $80 million Series A round last January. The funding was led by Kleiner Perkins, and included Upfront Ventures and NEA.

Earlier this year it hired Louisa Wee, a vice-president of marketing strategy, analysis and programmatic media for Netflix to lead its brand, content and creative programming. Recently, the company has made a push to ramp direct sales, offering "flash sales" to subscribers as it positions itself as a place for discovery as shoppers shift away from brick-and-mortar stores.