One struggling billion-dollar startup is hoping its story doesn’t end with a bang.

Zenefits, the high-flying human resources software startup that has been dragged down in recent weeks by compliance failures and reports of sex in the office, announced Friday that it will be laying off about 250 employees, or 17% of its staff.

The layoffs, said to be “almost entirely” in its sales division — coincidentally, the one that was the primary target of the lecture about the sexual activity — represent the startup’s latest attempt to curb its reckless growth and equally reckless behavior.

“We are letting go of many great people today, and it is not their fault,” David Sacks, the newly named CEO of Zenefits, wrote in a memo to all employees, obtained by Mashable. “It is no secret that Zenefits grew too fast, stretching both our culture and our controls.” Read more…