Cardica (NSDQ:CRDC) this week said it’s laying off nearly quarter of its workforce in a bid to conserve cash as it tries to get its MicroCutter Xchange 30 surgical stapler off the ground.

Last fall the Redwood City, Calif.-based company suspended the MicroCutter Xchange 30 launch to focus on improving the product, sending CRDC shares down more than 22%.

Now Cardica says it will lay off 15 of its 63 workers across all departments except R&D by March 31. The move is expected to cost about $200,000, Cardica said.

"Cardica is engaging in the restructuring to conserve cash, in order to use its capital in the most efficient way and to more appropriately match its use of cash with its stage of development. Cardica’s decision to engage in the corporate restructuring and layoff resulted from necessary improvements required for the MicroCutter XCHANGE 30 blue cartridge, which are expected to take approximately 4 to 6 months to complete, as well as the pursuit of a 510(k) clearance to gain a vascular application use in the United States," the company said.

Cardica also said that vice president of manufacturing & operations Frederick Bauer is slated to retire effective May 15.

In November 2014 Cardica said it was suspending the MicroCutter Xchange 30 launch after distributing about 200 of the devices as part of a "controlled commercial launch" to solicit feedback on its performance. Cardica said expects surgeons to continue using the approximately 100 units that remained in the field.

At the time the company also said it would reexamine its business "to focus on conserving cash by aligning spending with its focused plan going forward."

Shares of the micro-cap stock, which closed at 60¢ apiece yesterday, are off 3.2% since the layoffs announcement March 25.