Evri laid off 25 percent of its staff today in an effort to preserve cash. Chief Executive Neil Roseman -- the former vice president of technology at Amazon -- declined to say how many people were let go or the current staffing levels at the Seattle startup. But he said "general belt tightening" is a good idea in this tough economic climate.

The company, backed with $8 million from Paul Allen's Vulcan Ventures, has landed some high-profile deals in recent weeks for its content recommendation service. Just this week, Evri announced that the Times of London was using the tool on its politics and arts & entertainment pages. That followed a deal with The Washington Post.

Roseman declined to discuss terms of those deals or others, which he said are in various stages of development. But he said the company has been very happy with its recent progress, noting that the layoff was "not indicative of our direction or momentum."

"It is a tough market and we want to make sure we are one of the survivors," he said. 

Formerly known as Hypertext Solutions, the company purchased search technology from Insightful Corp. in 2007. It shares Pioneer Square office space with another Paul Allen-backed startup: Gist.