Virgin Orbit pauses operations, lays off majority of workforce
The satellite-launch company is trying to cut expenses after failed efforts to secure funding, according to reports
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Virgin Orbit, the aerospace company that launches satellites, said it would cease operations and will lay off most of its workforce.
The company reduced its headcount by about 675 employees, about 85% of its workforce, in a move to reduce expenses amid failed efforts to secure lifeline funding, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Virgin Orbit paused all operations and furloughed most of its employees on Wednesday, two months after the company experienced a mid-flight rocket failure when attempting to send satellites to orbit from Cornwall, England. The failure caused the company's shares to drop as much as 20% when it happened.
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In this undated photo provided by Virgin Orbit, Virgin Atlantic Cosmic Girl, a repurposed Virgin Atlantic Boeing 747 aircraft that will carry a rocket, is parked at Spaceport Cornwall, at Cornwall Airport in Newquay, England. The company said it will (Virgin Orbit via AP / AP Newsroom)
"Virgin Orbit is initiating a company-wide operational pause, effective March 16, 2023, and anticipates providing an update on go-forward operations in the coming weeks," a spokesperson said last week.
"We expect to be able to return to flight as soon as that investigation has concluded," the spokesperson added. "We're in the final stages of that… as well as integrating the changes and lessons learned from that into our next rocket, which we plan to fly later this year."
Fox News Digital has reached out to the company, which is owned by British billionaire Richard Branson. Branson owns the Virgin Group, which has ventures in the music, cruise ship, travel and bank industries.
The workforce reduction is expected to be completed by April 13, according to a regulatory filing.
Branson created Virgin Orbit in 2017 as a venture seeking to commercialize space travel, it has made four successful missions and launched 33 satellites into orbit.
A repurposed Virgin Atlantic Boeing 747 aircraft, named Cosmic Girl, carrying Virgin Orbit's LauncherOne rocket. (Ben Birchall/PA via AP / AP Newsroom)
The company took a hard hit during the COVID-19 pandemic as shutdowns and travel restrictions halted the industry globally.
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The company said it expects to incur charges of around $15 million, with about $8.8 million in several payments and employee benefits costs and $6.5 million in other costs, the news report said.
Fox Business' Andrea Vacchiano contributed to this report.