Virgin Orbit: Sir Richard Branson’s rocket company lays off 85% of workers

British billionaire Sir Richard Branson says rocket company Virgin Orbit will lay off 85% of its workforce after failing to secure new investment.

According to media reports, the company will also cease operations in the future.

It comes weeks after the company suspended operations in an attempt to raise financing.

Earlier this year, Virgin Orbit’s rocket failed to complete its first satellite launch on UK soil.

Shares of the company fell more than 44 percent in afternoon trading in New York on Thursday.

In a US regulatory filing, Virgin Orbit said the decision was made “to reduce costs given the company’s inability to obtain meaningful funding.”

The penalty will affect approximately 675 employees “across the company.”

Sir Richard’s investment firm Virgin Investments said it had injected $10.9 million (£8.8m) into Virgin Orbit to “fund other costs related to workforce reductions”.

Virgin Orbit said it expects to pay staff and other costs of about $15 million.

It was reported in the media that the company will stop working in the future.

“We have no choice but to implement immediate, dramatic and potentially painful changes,” Virgin Orbit CEO Dan Hart said at a meeting with employees, according to CNBC.

Virgin Orbit did not immediately respond to the BBC’s request for comment.

In the year Founded in 2017, the company has never made a profit as a public company.

It is part of Sir Richard’s business empire, which includes the airline Virgin Atlantic and the space tourism company Virgin Galactic, which manufactures rockets to transport small satellites.

Launched from the Boeing 747 Cosmic Girl, the company’s launcher on a rocket reached space but failed to reach its target orbit.

The mission is billed as a milestone for UK space exploration. It was hoped to be a major step towards the country’s goal of turning it into a global player – from manufacturing satellites to building rockets and creating new spaceports.