Branson's Virgin Orbit to lay off almost all employees



03/31/2023 3:21 AM


Dan Hart, the CEO of the satellite launch company Virgin Orbit, informed staff members at a general meeting on March 30 that the company would stop operations "for the foreseeable future" due to a lack of financing. 75% of Virgin Orbit is owned by British billionaire Richard Branson.



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Virgin Orbit, a company that launches satellites, has been unable to secure financing for its operations; as a result, it will shut down operations and lay off almost all of its employees, leaving only 100 of them, report CNBC quoting Virgin Orbit CEO Dan Hart at the company's annual general meeting on March 30.

In after-hours trading, the company's shares dropped more than 41% to $0.19 in response to the news. At the end of trading, Virgin Orbit's shares were trading at $0.34, a decrease of 16%. Since the year's beginning, they have decreased by 82%. The satellite launcher Virgin Orbit and British billionaire Richard Branson's other business, Virgin Galactic, both went public in 2019 via mergers with SPAC.

Branson owns 75% of Virgin Orbit, which was split off from the billionaire's Virgin Galactic company in 2017. The second-largest stake of 18% is held by Mubadala, the national wealth fund of the United Arab Emirates. Sir Richard Branson, the company's majority owner, refused to provide further funding for the business.

source: cnbc.com


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