2023年3月30日

2019年7月，維珍軌道未能獲得資金，停止運營，進行裁員。該公司的747噴氣式飛機“宇宙女人”在一次降落檢查中首次在半空中釋放了一枚LauncherOne火箭。維珍軌道公司首席執行官丹·哈特在周四下午的全體員工大會上指示員工，由於未能確保資金生命線，維珍軌道公司將在“可預見的未來”停止運營，並可能裁員約90%。哈特說:“遺憾的是，我們還沒有能夠確保資金，為這家公司提供一條透明的道路。”這與CNBC獲得的美國東部時間下午5點大會的音頻相符。“我們別無選擇，隻能進行迅速、戲劇性、非常痛苦的修改，”哈特說，他哽咽地說，這可能是“我一生中完成的最艱難的全員行動”。哈特稱，該公司將裁員100個職位，裁員將影響“每個”員工和部門。哈特提到，維珍軌道將“為每一位離職的員工提供遣散費”，包括資金成本、擴大優勢，並幫助他們找到一個全新的地方——與姐妹公司維珍銀河(Virgin Galactic)安排“直接管道”招聘。自周一以來，哈特每天都在向公司員工臨時彙報最新情況，當時維珍軌道公司在最後一分鍾將原定的全員大會推遲到周四。上周末，與兩家買家的後期交易談判破裂，但哈特周一指示員工，“非常活躍的”融資談判仍在繼續。這些投資者的討論本周仍在繼續——哈特表示，管理層將“盡可能迅速和透明地”分享任何更新，並指出泄露的電子郵件“是為了堅定的報道”，這與CNBC獲得的哈特周二和周三的電子郵件副本一致。從3月15日開始暫停運營和休假的750多名員工，在3月22日最初以“少量員工”恢複了部分工作後，本周該公司一直在穩步恢複額外的工作。 Amid the broader pause, Virgin Orbit has been working to complete its investigation into the mid-flight failure of its earlier launch, in addition to end preparations on its subsequent rocket. A Virgin Orbit consultant didn’t instantly reply to CNBC’s request for remark. Shareholders poured out of the inventory in prolonged buying and selling, with shares promoting off practically 30% after the announcement. Virgin Orbit inventory closed at 34 cents a share on Thursday, having fallen 82% because the starting of the yr. Enroll right here to obtain weekly editions of CNBC’s Investing in House publication. Virgin Orbit developed a system that makes use of a modified 747 jet to ship satellites into area by dropping a rocket from underneath the plane’s wing mid-flight. However the corporate’s final mission suffered a mid-flight failure, with a difficulty throughout the launch inflicting the rocket to not attain orbit and crash into the ocean. The corporate has been in search of new funds for a number of months, with majority proprietor Sir Richard Branson unwilling to fund the corporate additional. Virgin Orbit was spun out of Branson’s Virgin Galactic in 2017 and counts the billionaire as its largest stakeholder, with 75% possession. Mubadala, the Emirati sovereign wealth fund, holds the second-largest stake in Virgin Orbit, at 18%. The corporate employed chapter corporations to attract up contingency plans within the occasion it’s unable to discover a purchaser or investor. Branson has first precedence over Virgin Orbit’s property, as the corporate raised $60 million in debt from the funding arm of Virgin Group. On the identical day that Hart instructed staff that Virgin Orbit was pausing operations , its board of administrators accepted a “golden parachute” severance plan for high executives, in case they’re terminated “following a change in management” of the corporate. Did you like this article? Share it now privacy-friendly!