Virgin OrbitRichard Branson’s company dedicated to launching satellites into low Earth orbit, announced the cessation of its operations and the dismissal of almost all its staff. The news was known through a regulatory document filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
The decision was made just a couple of weeks after the startup lay off a good part of his staff, while he worked on closing a million-dollar investment that would allow him to continue his work. It is evident that the latter did not materialize, which led to the drastic determination that came to light in the last hours.
According to the document published by the SEC, the cessation of operations of Virgin Orbit is effective immediately. As for the layoffs, they affect some 675 workers who worked in all areas of the company. This number represents 85% of the staff, which will be reduced to about 100 employees.
Richard Branson’s company expects to complete the staff cut on April 3; that is, next Monday. Some 15 million dollars will be allocated for the payment of compensation and to face the costs related to the closure of the company, indicates the document signed by Dan Hart, its CEO.
Virgin Orbit: from wanting to be SpaceX to oblivion, in just a couple of years
The Virgin Orbit case is really curious. The company founded by Richard Branson gained recognition for its unique approach to the deployment of satellites in low Earth orbit. Instead of doing it from the ground, like other firms such as SpaceX or RocketLab, the startup chose to carry it out from the air, with a rocket launched from a Boeing 747 specially prepared for the job and christened Cosmic Girl.
However, the outlook turned dark at the beginning of this year. In January, a technical failure caused the failure of a mission that was betting on putting 9 satellites into orbit from the United Kingdom. This inconvenience ended up being fatal for the aspirations of Virgin Orbit, which could not recover from the blow.
Just a week ago, the company announced that it was negotiating a $200 million injection from American businessman Matthew Brown. In fact, it was expected to close the investment favorably and reactivate a part of its licensed workforce to work on rocket maintenance. But the illusion did not last long.
Virgin Orbit failed to secure the necessary money to continue operating and had to make the decision to close it. CNBC obtained an audio of the meeting in which Dan Hart, the leader of the startupannounced the drastic determination.
Unfortunately, we have not been able to secure funding to provide a clear path for this venture. We have no choice but to implement immediate, dramatic and extremely painful changes. This is probably the hardest meeting I’ve ever had in my life. This company, this team, all of you, mean the world to me. And I have not stopped and I will not stop supporting them, whether they continue on this journey or if they go elsewhere, “said the CEO.
Thus, in just a couple of years, Virgin Orbit went from being one of the startups most interesting aerospace, to disappearance. At the end of 2021, the company went public with a valuation of 3,200 million dollarswhile yesterday it closed its listing on Nasdaq worth just $120 million.