The company said in a filing this week that it was cutting 675 jobs, or about 85% of its workforce.
Virgin Orbit Holdings Inc., the Long Beach satellite-launch company tied to British billionaire Richard Branson, is ceasing operations indefinitely, succumbing to growing cash-crunch pressures that have paralyzed startups in many emerging technologies.
The move punctuates a rapid fall after its high-profile launch failure in January and a collapse in its stock price. Virgin Orbit temporarily suspended operations earlier this month while it sought additional capital. The firm — part of Branson’s empire that includes airline Virgin Atlantic and spaceflight company Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc. — hasn’t turned a profit as a public company.
Just two weeks ago, the company approved a severance plan for top executives, with Chief Executive Officer Daniel Hart standing to collect a payout of twice his base compensation, a cash payment equal to the pro-rated annual target bonus, as well as as much as six months of health insurance cover. Astra Space Inc. reported Thursday that its cash and cash-equivalent reserves fell by 32% in the quarter ended Dec. 31, and Rocket Lab USA said last month it expects to its quarterly loss to be three times bigger than analysts had estimated.
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