According to a March 31 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Long Beach, Calif., based Virgin Orbit is cutting 675 jobs, which is 85 percent of its total workforce.
This follows an announcement earlier this month that the company was pausing all operations and placing most employees on furlough. According to the SEC filing, the job cuts will come in all areas of the company.
In its filing, the company said it expects the majority of layoffs to be complete by April 3. However, it expects about $15.5 million in charges related to the cuts with the majority hitting in the first quarter. The company went on to say it anticipates $8.5 million in severance payments and employee benefits costs, and about $6.5 million on other employee-related costs.
Virgin Orbit was founded by Sir Richard Branson in 2017 as an attempt to target the small satellite market. Its LauncherOne rockets are launched from a modified Boeing 747 based at the Mojave Air and Space Port in Southern California.
To date, the company has completed four successful launches for a mix of both commercial and the U.S. Defense Department. However, a planned launch from the United Kingdom earlier this year ended in failure. A company investigation found the rocket’s fuel filter had become dislodged, causing the engine to overheat and other components to fail.