Virgin Orbit Shuts Down Operations, to Layoff Almost 700 Employees Due to Lack of Funding

Isaiah Richard, Tech Times 30 March 2023, 10:03 pm

Virgin Orbit is already shutting down after six years in the space industry, and the subsidiary will cease to exist within the company, no longer seeing any satellite launches moving forward. This is due to the lack of funding from its parent company, Virgin, known to be under the leadership of Sir Richard Branson, also known for Virgin Galactic.

Alongside this shutdown is the loss of jobs for the entire subsidiary, with as many as 700 employees under Virgin Orbit losing their jobs as the department pulls the plug on its entire operations.

Virgin Orbit Shuts Down Operations Due to Lack of Funding

(Photo : Hugh Hastings/Getty Images)

As per CNBC's report, Virgin Orbit is shutting down its operations effective immediately due to a lack of funding for the subsidiary, an end of an era for Virgin's satellite launching service. The company is ceasing its operations for the "foreseeable future," with CEO Dan Hart confirming this in an all-hands meeting last Thursday.

"We have no choice but to implement immediate, dramatic and extremely painful changes," Hart said, as per the obtained meeting call from the 5 PM ET meeting by CNBC. He added that this is "probably the hardest all-hands that we've ever done in my life."

Virgin Orbit is best known for being formed in 2017 to commercialize the company's LauncherOne, a satellite launch system strapped on its modified 747 airliner that flies it up to high altitudes.

As many as 700 Employees to Lose Jobs

In a securities filing of the company, it is laying off 85 percent of the workforce, with as many as 675 employees losing their jobs in this collapse. There would be 100 employees who will be retaining their work when this subsidiary shuts down.

All laid-off employees will receive a severance package, cash payment, extension of benefits, and a direct pipeline to apply to Virgin Galactic.

Virgin's Space Operations

Virgin is one of the most iconic companies in the world, under the leadership of the famed business mogul, Sir Richard Branson, and prior reports claim it is a good company to work with. One of the most invaluable perks within Virgin is the chance to take unlimited vacations and days off, among the most important from Branson's legacy.

Virgin Orbit is the company's subsidiary which heavily centers on launching satellites to orbit, using their vessel and services to bring the orbiting spacecraft for different services or needs. The latest merger for Virgin Orbit was with a special purpose acquisition corporation or SPAC after the firm went public last August 2021.

The famed Virgin Galactic, the renowned space missions subsidiary under the British multinational venture company had several launches in the past which makes it a part of the Big Three in the private space race.

However, the company may not be as profitable as it seems, as Virgin Orbit experiences one of the harshest shutdowns in the company's history. Virgin Orbit is now defunct and will no longer be in service moving forward, with the entire company ceasing its operations, with its employees facing layoffs.