The Blue Origin, owned by Jeff Bezos, will cut 10% of its workforce as it pivots towards an increase in rocket launch frequency after years of research and development, the space company said Thursday.
“Our main focus from 2025 onwards is to expand production power and start cadence with customer speed, decisions and efficiency,” Dave Limp said in an email to employees. I've said that. GeekWire is the high-tech news site.
“We've grown and hired incredibly fast over the last few years, and as we grow, we've become less bureaucratic and focused than we need.”
The layoffs cut Washington-based Kent with approximately 1,400 jobs.
“There is no doubt that we have achieved a lot of success in the last few months,” Limp told employees who were stunned at all separate hand meetings that lasted about 10 minutes.
“But with that being said, when you see what you need to reach the foundation of the company and the next three to five years, we just have to make the pain that we haven't decided to succeed like success. We came to a concomitant conclusion. We really wanted to have it.”
The layoff comes weeks after the highly anticipated debut of Blue Origin's flagship New Glenn Rocket.
While the initial launch of the rocket was a major milestone for the company, leadership now underscores the need to strengthen the rhythm of production and flight.
Speaking at a conference held in Washington, DC on Wednesday, Limp recognized the success of the new Glen launch, but emphasized that the company now needs to turn its efforts into a regular and efficient operation. .
“We have a lot to do before us, and we have to get to cadence, which is flying very often.
“But it's a very good first step to see it happen.”
Founded by Bezos in 2000, Blue Origin has grown into a leading player in the growth industry with facilities in Florida, Texas and Alabama.
The company has an ambitious portfolio that includes space tourism, Moonlander, space station development and rocket engine production.
Limp, a former Amazon executive, was appointed CEO in 2023 and received an order to accelerate the transition from Blue Origin's research-heavy operations to something focused on execution and commercialization.
The company's key priorities are to meet the backlog of launch agreements worth around $10 billion.
Despite advances in Blue Origin, the company continues to face comparisons with its biggest competitor, Elon Musk's SpaceX.
SpaceX has rapidly expanded its launch capabilities, surpassing the blue origins and other space startups in both frequency and reliability.
Work in Blue Origins also comes amidst the wider changes within the aerospace industry.
On Wednesday, Bloomberg reported that Boeing was able to maintain half of the 400 jobs it previously thought he had removed from the MoonRocket program after negotiations with NASA.
With post wire
