Topics
recent
AI
Amazon
Image Credits:Virgin Galactic
Apps
Biotech & Health
mood
Image Credits:Virgin Galactic
Cloud Computing
mercantilism
Crypto
Enterprise
EVs
Fintech
Fundraising
widget
Gaming
Government & Policy
Hardware
layoff
Media & Entertainment
Meta
Microsoft
privateness
Robotics
surety
Social
Space
Startups
TikTok
Transportation
Venture
More from TechCrunch
outcome
Startup Battlefield
StrictlyVC
newssheet
Podcasts
Videos
Partner Content
TechCrunch Brand Studio
Crunchboard
Contact Us
Virgin Galacticis cut costs and reducing staff by 18 % as it looks to descale production of its next - gen line of suborbital spaceplanes .
In a memo to staff transmit Tuesday , Virgin Galactic CEO Michael Colglazier said that uncertainty in working capital markets and geopolitical unrest have made “ near - full term admittance to capital much less favorable . ” That ’s not good news for a company like Virgin Galactic , which has at the same time had to center on scaling commercial-grade cognitive process of its initial vehicle , the VSS Unity suborbital vehicle and the Eve aircraft , while also work to create a fleet of next - gen ship the company calls Delta .
“ The Delta ships are sinewy economical locomotive . To wreak them into servicing , we need to hold out our strong financial position and deoxidise our trust on unpredictable chapiter markets , ” Colglazier said . “ We will fulfil this , but it requires us to airt our resources toward the Delta ships while streamlining and reduce our work outside of the Delta program . ”
Overall , the company is laying off 185 employees , or 18 % of its workforce , which will result in an annual cost savings of around $ 25 million . Colglazier total that the company will be calling each employee to confirm their employment status , and that these call will continue through Thursday .
Virgin Galactic , which just completed its fifth commercial flight of the VSS Unity spaceplane , has antecedently enjoin that it ’s looking tobring Delta into commercial-grade service by 2026 — but it almost sure as shooting will make out at no little cost . While Virgin Galactic has not publicly stated how much it anticipates it will spend to get Delta ships online , the company has already spent many millions on research and development for the future fleet .
But feature Delta ship operational will belike be key to the company ever hoping to reach lucrativeness . Those ships are being design to fly more often — as in , up to 400 time per class — based on a “ interchangeable production model ” that will make them cheaper to acquire and defend .
In monastic order to get there , the company said Wednesday that it would ramp down flight of VSS Unity to once per quarter before pausing in mid-2024 to focus on Delta ship gathering .
Join us at TechCrunch Sessions: AI
Exhibit at TechCrunch Sessions: AI
The troupe describe a net loss of $ 104.6 million at the closing of the third quarter and $ 1.7 million in gross . Virgin Galactic ended the one-fourth with around $ 1.1 billion of hard cash and securities on hand .
The story has been updated to reflect further item that were released Wednesday , admit the company ’s third quarter earnings .
