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Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket on its Florida launch pad in January (BlueOrigin Photo). (BlueOrigin Photo)
Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin space venture plans to cut about 10% of its workforce according to an announcement Thursday by the Kent, Wash.-based company’s CEO. Dave Limp, CEO of Blue Origin, shared an email to employees revealing that the company cut its workforce by 10% in an effort to focus on scaling outputs and launching cadence more quickly. Limp emphasized that the company’s engineering, R&D, and program/project management roles will be eliminated, while fewer layers of management will remain. The layoffs will affect roughly 1,400 of the company’s nearly 14,000 employees, with a notice going to impacted employees via email. Blue Origin’s first successful New Glenn rocket launch was recent, marking a milestone for Jeff Bezos, the Amazon founder and the primary owner of Blue Origin. In a previous meeting with employees, Limp stated that Blue Origin was struggling to maintain its success and wanted to transition, but found itself forced to cut jobs. Limp later described the shift as requiring a “asked and fulfilled” culture focused on decisive priorities. The CEOeven agreed to work with the company on a lunar lander, which would send astronauts as early as 2025. Blue Origin aims to outpace SpaceX for the New Glenn rocket and collaborate with companies rich in space and defense hardware for a space lunar landing mission. Limp expressed confidence in the company’s potential, saying he’s optimistic about achieving record-breaking achievements and consistently meeting commitments.
