AP – Richard Branson’s Virgin Orbit is letting go of almost its entire work force with the satellite launch company finding it difficult to secure funding three months after a failed mission.
The company, headquartered in Long Beach, California, will cut 675 jobs, about 85 per cent of its workforce, according to a filing with the United States (US) Securities and Exchange Commission yesterday.
Earlier last month Virgin Orbit said it was pausing operations amid reports of possible job cuts. At the time the company confirmed that it was putting all work on hold, but didn’t say for how long.
In January, a mission by Virgin Orbit to launch the first satellites into orbit from Europe failed after a rocket’s upper stage prematurely shut down. It was a setback in the United Kingdom (UK) which had hoped that the launch from Cornwall in southwest England would mark the beginning of more commercial opportunities for the UK space industry.
The company said in February an investigation found that its rocket’s fuel filter had become dislodged, causing an engine to become overheated and other components to malfunction over the Atlantic Ocean.
Virgin Orbit has completed four successful satellite launches so far from California for a mix of commercial and US government defence uses.
Virgin Orbit said in a regulatory filing yesterday the job cuts will occur in all areas of the company.
It expects about USD15.5 million in charges related to the job cuts, with the majority of the charges taking place in the first quarter. The company anticipates USD8.8 million in severance payments and employee benefits costs and USD6.5 million in other employee-related costs.
Virgin Orbit anticipates the job cuts being mostly complete by Monday.
Virgin Orbit, which is listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange, was founded in 2017 by British billionaire Richard Branson to target the market for launching small satellites into space. Its LauncherOne rockets are launched from the air from modified Virgin passenger planes, allowing the company to operate more flexibly than using fixed launch sites.
