MSN.com is reporting Virgin Orbit is laying off most of its staff and ceasing operations after failing to raise enough money to keep trying to build an aircraft-based space launch business. In a call with staff on Thursday, CEO Dan Hart said 675 of about 775 staff will be cut. Company founder Sir Richard Branson stopped putting money into the company a few months ago, and the leadership has been trying to raise funds with other investors ever since. Negotiations with one set of potential investors collapsed a week ago and a last-minute bid to secure financing with another group fizzled on Thursday.
The company was using a modified Boeing 747 as the launch platform for orbital missions and had managed to successfully put four of six payloads into orbit. The most recent launch ended with the rocket and the nine satellites it was carrying in the ocean off the south coast of the U.K. where the mission originated. The company went public at the end of 2021 with shares at $10. The stock closed Thursday at 34 cents a share. Branson remains the largest shareholder with about 75 percent ownership.
