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Billionaire Richard Branson’s Virgin Orbit on Wednesday said it was suspending all operations from March 16 and a source familiar with the matter told Reuters that the satellite launch company was also laying off almost all of its employees.
Chief Executive Dan Hart told staff at the meeting that the furloughs were intended to buy Virgin Orbit time to finalize a new investment plan to help the company out of financial trouble, according to sources who attended the meeting.
How long the furlough will last is unclear, but Hart said he will give employees an update by the middle of next week on when they can return, the source said.
In a statement to Reuters, the company confirmed the operational pause but did not elaborate on the furlough.
CNBC first reported the news.
Last month, Virgin Orbit said it was investigating the failure of a mission in January to deploy nine small satellites into low-Earth orbit from the coastal town of Newquay in southwest England.
The failure of the mission was a major blow to the business and added to its financial struggles.
“On the ops side, our investigation is almost complete and the next production rocket with the necessary modifications is in the final stages of integration and testing,” the company said on Wednesday.
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