Virgin Orbit — the rocket company founded by British billionaire Richard Branson — is laying off the vast majority of its workforce as company leadership struggles to secure additional funding
. About 675 employees will be terminated by April 3, according to a public document filed Thursday, amounting to around 85% of Virgin Orbit’s workforce. The move was made to “reduce expenses in light of the Company’s inability to secure meaningful funding.” The news was reported earlier by CNBC. Virgin Orbit spokespeople declined to comment beyond the filing.
Virgin Orbit, on the other hand, has been developing an air-launched rocket, dubbed LauncherOne, for hauling small satellites to orbit. The company was an early leader among dozens of startups vying to build lightweight rockets for launching smallsats. Virgin Orbit’s LauncherOne rocket reached orbit for the first time in January 2021, earlier than most of its competitors and after only one failed attempt. It then completed three more successful missions out of California.
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