(Bloomberg) -- Eat Just Inc., a closely held maker of cultivated chicken and plant-based eggs, has dismissed roughly 40 employees, less than a month after raising $16 million, according to people familiar with the matter.

“We took steps this week to reduce costs for the purpose of Just Egg sales covering the company’s operating expenses sooner, and that means parting with some members of the team whom we will miss greatly,” a company spokesperson told Bloomberg via email. The spokesperson declined to say what part of the company was affected.

Neither side of Eat Just’s business makes money, and the company recently has had trouble paying bills. It’s facing a $100 million lawsuit from its bioreactor manufacturer, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania-based ABEC Inc. A $2.7 million suit from Kansas City, Missouri-based Clark, Richardson & Biskup Consulting Engineers Inc. for work on cultivated meat was dismissed this month. The company spokesperson declined to comment on either matter.

In February, Alameda, California-based Eat Just laid off about 18% of employees. It raised $16 million earlier this month from the nonprofit Ahimsa Foundation.

(An earlier version of this story corrected the status of a lawsuit in third paragraph.)

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