Blue Origin intends to lay off more than 1,000 employees, citing the need to restructure the company and reduce bureaucracy. That’s 10% of its total workforce.
Notification of the impending cuts was made by Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp. On February 13, he sent an email to the company’s employees titled “Difficult Org News.” Limp said in it that the decision was made as a result of the company’s planning for 2025 and the need for sustainable growth. Blue Origin’s main goal for the coming year is to increase production and launch frequency of the New Glenn rocket.
“We grew and hired incredibly fast in the last few years, and with that growth came more bureaucracy and less focus than we needed,” Limp wrote. “It also became clear that the makeup of our organization must change to ensure our roles are best aligned with executing these priorities.”
The layoffs and their scale took many of the company’s employees by surprise. They come less than a month after Blue Origin celebrated a major success by sending a New Glenn rocket into space for the first time.
At the same time, even before the news of the layoffs, Blue Origin was trying to control costs. Specifically, the company has had a hiring freeze for the past six months. And in January, it laid off most of its contractors.
The layoffs are believed to be an attempt by company owner Jeff Bezos to put Blue Origin on a stronger financial foundation. He spends about 2 billion dollars annually to maintain its operations. Given the size of his fortune, Bezos could continue to fund Blue Origin for a long time. But apparently the billionaire wants to ensure that the company’s programs become, at minimum, unprofitable.
Earlier we reported on Boeing’s plans to lay off hundreds of people working on the SLS rocket.
According to Arstechnica
