FILE PHOTO - A woman stands in front of the logo of Snap Inc. on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) while waiting for Snap Inc. to post their IPO, in New York City, New York, U.S. on March 2, 2017. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson/File Photo

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Social media company Snap Inc SNAP.N said on Friday it had laid off 18 people in its recruiting division, an unusual move for a young company with ambitious growth plans and a likely reflection of tough competition from Facebook Inc FB.O.

Venice, California-based Snap, the parent company of messaging app Snapchat, declined to comment beyond its statement confirming the job cuts, which were first reported by Business Insider.

Snap Chief Executive Evan Spiegel told employees in an email last month that the company would hire at a “slower rate” in 2018, and that managers would be asked to make “hard decisions” about employees who are not performing well, Business Insider reported.

Snapchat is popular among people under 30 who like decorating their pictures with bunny faces and other filters. But since Snap’s $3.4 billion IPO in March, investor concerns have mounted that the company might never become profitable.

Facebook has introduced similar features to its suite of apps, including Instagram, challenging Snapchat for users and for advertising dollars.

Snap shares closed up 2 percent on Friday to $15.56.