Space company Blue Origin, owned by Jeff Bezos, has announced plans to lay off about 10 percent of its workforce. According to Bloomberg, the company currently employs more than 10,000 people, which means that about 1,000 employees may be affected by the layoffs.
Blue Origin CEO David Limp told employees that rapid growth has led to “more bureaucracy and less focus than we needed.” As a result, Limp said, the company is “thinning out our management layers” and cutting staff in engineering, project management, and research and development. “The makeup of our organization must change to ensure that our roles are best suited to deliver on these priorities,” Limp wrote.
Last month, Blue Origin successfully launched the New Glenn rocket, a SpaceX competitor that will transport satellites and other cargo into space. In his note, Limp also highlighted plans to land on the moon in 2025, as well as increasing the frequency of New Glenn and New Shepard flights.
“Let me add that I am extremely confident in the tremendous opportunities that lie ahead of us and have never been more optimistic about our mission,” Limp wrote. “We will continue to invest, reinvent, and hire hundreds of employees in areas that will help us achieve our goals and best serve our customers. We will be a stronger, faster and more customer-centric company that consistently meets and exceeds our commitments.”
