Richard Branson’s company says it is laying off around 85% of its workforce as it fails to attract new investment.
British billionaire Richard Branson’s aerospace company Virgin Orbit says it is laying off about 85% of its staff. The company was unable to attract new investment, according to Reuters.
It is known that around 675 employees will lose their jobs. Relocated personnel and other costs will total approximately $15 million.
The layoffs are expected to end on April 3.
Virgin Orbit said in a statement that the move was the result of the company’s “inability to obtain significant funding.”
Negotiations for a $200 million investment broke down over the weekend. Since then, shares in the company controlled by Richard Branson’s Virgin Group have fallen more than 44%.
Recall that at the beginning of this year, the Virgin Orbit rocket failed to make the first satellite launch from the UK.
Virgin Orbit has developed a system that uses a modified 747 aircraft to send satellites into space by dropping a rocket from under the plane’s wing mid-flight.
The company is one of the few American rocket companies to successfully reach orbit using a privately developed launch vehicle. It has launched six missions since 2020, four of which were successful and two were unsuccessful.
The company has been looking for new funds for several months, as its majority owner Richard Branson does not want to finance the company.
Virgin Orbit has successfully launched a rocket into orbit from an airplane
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Source: korrespondent
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