Virgin Orbit plans to lay off 85% of its staff.
The British small satellite launcher said on Thursday that it was unable to secure a funding lifeline to shore up its finances.
- CEO Dan Hart told employees on Thursday that Virgin Orbit will lay off most of its workforce.
- A recent regulatory filing showed that it plans to cut 675 positions, representing about 85% of its staff.
- Hart said the decision was made after the firm failed to secure a deal during late-stage talks with two potential investors.
- He said Virgin Orbit will provide severance packages to all departing employees and offer a "direct pipeline" to help them seek new positions at the company's sister firm, Virgin Galactic.
Zoom Out:
- In November, Virgin Orbit reported a loss of $42.9M in adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA).
- In January, the company failed in its effort to launch the first satellite from the U.K. using its airplane-mounted LauncherOne system.
- The latest failure came after Virgin Orbit successfully carried out five LauncherOne missions in the U.S.
