San Francisco, Jan 10 (IANS): Sam Altman-backed startup Humane has laid off four per cent of employees this week, the media reported.

The company described the job cuts as a cost-cutting measure to those workers who were impacted. Employees were also recently told by leadership that budgets would be lowered this year, reports The Verge, citing sources.

The cuts, which include 10 workers, come ahead of the startup shipping its first device -- a $699, screenless, AI-powered pin that competes with smartphones.

The co-founder and CEO of Humane, Bethany Bongiorno, took to LinkedIn to describe the cuts as “part of a wider refresh of our organisational structure as our company evolves with purpose for this next phase of growth," the report mentioned.

In the post, she stated that founding CTO Patrick Gates "will also be transitioning to an advisor in order to spend more time with his family". She also mentioned that the company had promoted new heads of hardware, software, and people as part of a reorganisation.

In December last year, Humane announced that its Ai Pin will start shipping in March 2024.

"We are thrilled to announce that Ai Pin will start shipping in March 2024. All of us here at Humane can’t wait for you to experience your Ai Pin, the world’s first wearable computer powered by Ai," the company wrote on X.