ir Richard Branson’s satellite launch company virgin job is to cut 675 jobs – about 85% of the workforce – after failing to get new funding.
The entrepreneur has said he will inject nearly £9 million into redundancy costs.
It comes amid reports from the Financial times that Virgin Orbit’s CEO, Dan Hart, is in a hurry to close last-minute investments to prevent the company from collapsing.
Shares in the company plummeted by as much as 40% in after-hours trading New York after the layoffs were confirmed.
Earlier this year, a Virgin Orbit rocket failed to complete the first satellite launch from British soil.
The California-headquartered company also halted all operations earlier this month as it sought additional funding.
In the US regulatory filings, the company confirmed the job cuts “to reduce costs in light of the company’s inability to raise meaningful funding.”
It added that the layoffs, which are due to be completed by Monday, April 3, will affect workers in “all areas” of the company.
Virgin Orbit said it expects staff severance payments and other costs related to the cuts to cost it about $15m (£12.1m).