Space company Virgin Orbit, part of British billionaire Richard Branson’s Virgin Group, has announced that it will cease operations and cut 85% of its employees in an instant. It has been reported Border.
The startup said Virgin Orbit is trying to develop and popularize a more affordable way to launch small satellites into orbit to compete with Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin.
However, in recent months, the company has been seeking additional sources of financing to continue its operations. Under regulations, Virgin Orbit will simultaneously lay off 675 employees.
A company spokesperson said the cuts will be complete by April 3 this year. As a result, only 100 employees from the old startup will remain at Virgin Group.
According to filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the total amount of severance pay and other expenses will be approximately $15 million.
Virgin Orbit used its own LauncherOne rocket launch system with a converted Boeing 747 aircraft. Six launches have been made since 2020, four of which were successful.
But first launch of space satellites It was unsuccessful from the UK, which was conducted by Virgin Orbit in January of this year.