Virgin Orbit is on the brink of collapse just months after a failed attempt to launch a satellite into space from Cornwall
Virgin Orbit is on the brink of collapse just months after a failed attempt to launch a satellite into space from Cornwall.
The rocket company set up by Sir Richard Branson has laid off 85% of its workforce and ceased operations after failing to secure a cash lifeline.
Virgin Orbit said it made the decision “to reduce expenses given the company’s inability to secure meaningful financing”. The cuts will affect about 675 employees and leave only 100 employees.
Failure: Cosmic Girl and Launcher One. Right: Richard Branson
Branson injected around £8.8m through his company Virgin Investments to cover most severance pay and other costs associated with the showdown. Virgin Orbit, which was founded in 2017, hasn’t made a profit since going public.
Reports suggest the company will cease operations for the foreseeable future until it gets its finances in order.
The New York-listed company is on the verge of bankruptcy after its failed launch from Cornwall in January. The Virgin Orbit plane – a reconfigured Boeing 747 named Cosmic Girl – took off from Newquay with Launcher One under its wing. But a glitch prevented the rocket carrying the satellites from reaching orbit after launching from the plane.
William Whitehorn, the former chairman of Virgin Galatic, from which Virgin Orbit spun off, said: “Space tech suffers from a much bigger problem in the tech sector and from the wider fear of private equity in this moment.”
