Bezos's Blue Origin rocket firm to cut 10% of workforce / Photo: Patrick T. FALLON - AFP
-
South Korea to double spending on AI and chips in 2027
-
Asian stocks mixed as tech sector struggles to rebound from selloff
-
Binance resumes withdrawals after more than $6 bn stolen in hack
-
Buzzy Holmes doc wins slow Halloween box office in N. America
-
Trump's Republicans scramble to stop Democratic midterms wave
-
Binance says resuming withdrawals after major hack
Bezos's Blue Origin rocket firm to cut 10% of workforce
Jeff Bezos's rocket company Blue Origin is laying off around 10 percent of its workforce following a period of rapid expansion, the firm's chief executive told staff on Thursday.
"We grew and hired incredibly fast in the last few years," CEO Dave Limp wrote in an email -- a copy of which was obtained by AFP -- explaining the company's "tough" decision.
"With that growth came more bureaucracy and less focus than we needed," he continued, adding that the makeup of the company "must change."
"Sadly, this resulted in eliminating some positions in engineering, R&D, and program/project management and thinning out our layers of management," he said.
The decision will affect more than 1,000 people given the firm's roughly 11,000 employees, according to a recent PitchBook estimate of staffing levels.
Blue Origin is one of the United States' largest private space companies, and has in recent years been attempting to win lucrative government contracts in an industry still largely dominated by Elon Musk's SpaceX.
Its massive New Glenn rocket recently reached orbital space for the first time, marking a potential turning point in the commercial space race.
D.Goldberg--CPN