Virgin Orbit, the satellite-launching subsidiary of Richard Branson’s Virgin Group, has announced it is laying off 85 percent of its workforce and ceasing operations “for the foreseeable future.” The company, which aims to provide a more affordable option for launching small satellites into orbit, has struggled to get funding to stay afloat and compete with larger players in the private space industry such as SpaceX and Blue Origin.
Virgin Orbit has just 100 employees left, with 675 roles to be cut on April 3rd
According to a regulatory filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Virgin Orbit will immediately cease all operations and eliminate 675 positions in each department. The layoffs are expected to be completed by April 3rd, leaving just 100 employees at the company. Virgin Orbit will pay about $15 million in severance payments and other costs related to the business termination, paid for by a cash injection of $10.9 million from Branson’s investment arm, Virgin Investments (as reported of Financial Times).
“Unfortunately, we were unable to secure the funding to provide a clear path for this company. We have no choice but to implement immediate, dramatic, and extremely painful changes,” said Virgin Orbit CEO Dan Hart, according to meeting audio obtained by CNBC. Hart described the meeting as “probably the hardest thing we’ve ever done in my life.”
The announcement comes two weeks after Virgin Orbit paused operation and laid off nearly all of its workers on March 15th as the company tried to secure additional investment. The satellite launch company disclosed an operating loss of $50.5 million in it last quarterly earnings reportand Branson’s Virgin Group has reportedly injected $60 million to keep the business afloat since November.
Virgin Orbit emerged as a branch of Branson’s space tourism company Virgin Galactic in 2017. Unlike rival companies like SpaceX that launch heavy rockets from the ground, Virgin Orbit launched its LauncherOne in two stages rocket from the sky, carried to an altitude of 35,000 feet by a converted Boeing 747 nicknamed Cosmic Girl. It has conducted six total missions since 2020, with four successful launches and two failures.