Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Orbit lays off 85 per cent of employees

Virgin Orbit, the rocket company of British billionaire Sir Richard Branson, announced that it is laying off 85 per cent of its staff after the firm failed to get new investment.

As per the media reports, the firm's operations will remain ceased for the foreseeable future. This comes weeks after the operations of the company were paused in an attempt to shore up its finances.

Earlier in 2023, Virgin Orbit was not able to complete the first satellite launch, using its rocket, from UK soil.

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The shares of the company fell by more than 44 per cent during after-hours trading in New York on Thursday.

In a US regulatory filing, the firm said it made the decision "in order to reduce expenses in light of the company's inability to secure meaningful funding."

Virgin Orbit's layoffs will impact around 675 employees who "are located in all areas of the company."

It stated that $10.9 million (£8.8 million) has been injected by Sir Richard's investment firm Virgin Investments into Virgin Orbit "to fund severance and other costs related to the workforce reduction".

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Virgin Orbit said that, as per estimates, the final payments to the laid-off employees and other costs will sum up to around $15 million.

The announcement comes amid media reports that the company's head has informed its staff about the suspension of all activities till further notice.

"We have no choice but to implement immediate, dramatic and extremely painful changes," said Virgin Orbit chief executive Dan Hart in a meeting with employees, as per CNBC.

(With inputs from agencies)

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