Blue Origin to lay off 10% of workforce as it ramps up rocket production

Blue Origin, the space company founded by Jeff Bezos, announced on Thursday that it is laying off about 10% of its workforce in a move aimed at cutting costs and increasing the pace of rocket launches.

The decision, affecting roughly 1,400 employees across Florida, Texas, and Washington, is part of a broader effort by CEO Dave Limp to make the company more competitive against rivals like SpaceX.

“There’s no easy way to communicate this,” Dave Limp told employees in the meeting, which was scheduled the night prior and lasted about 10 minutes.

“There’s no question that we’ve had a lot of successes over the last few months.”

“But that being said, when you look at the foundation of the company and what we need to get to over the next three to five years, we just came to the painful conclusion that we aren’t set up for the kind of success that we wanted to have,” Limp said.

Push for efficiency and faster launches

Founded by Bezos almost a quarter of a century ago, Blue Origin is now 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.

Limp, who was brought in by Bezos in late 2023 from Amazon’s consumer products division, has been tasked with streamlining Blue Origin’s operations.

His focus has been on making the company “quick, nimble, decisive, and very focused on our customers,” particularly as it ramps up production of its New Glenn rocket, which had its long-awaited first test launch last month.

New Glenn is central to Blue Origin’s long-term strategy, competing with SpaceX’s Falcon 9, which currently dominates the commercial spaceflight industry.

To achieve higher launch frequencies, Limp has prioritized manufacturing improvements and operational efficiency, areas where he believes Blue Origin was lagging.

“We have made a lot of progress in the past year on fundamentals, acting quickly, turning us into a world-class manufacturing company, and focusing the company,” Limp said.

“I think we’ve made some progress. We have a lot to do this year, too.”

Half of Blue Origin's staff has changed since Limp took over

In addition to layoffs, Limp has reshaped Blue Origin’s leadership structure, stating that “about half” of his staff has changed since he took over.

He has also implemented significant reorganizations, particularly in the company’s operations and manufacturing divisions.

While these changes aim to improve efficiency, some employees believe the rapid restructuring has hurt company morale.

Some staff members have already started looking for jobs elsewhere, and CNBC reported that they are concerned about the company’s culture under Limp’s leadership.

Despite the layoffs, Limp expressed confidence in Blue Origin’s future, stating that the company would still be hiring “hundreds” of new employees this year.

“We will be a stronger, faster, and more customer-focused company that consistently meets and exceeds our commitments,” he said.

As Blue Origin moves forward with its ambitious plans, the company will need to balance its drive for efficiency with maintaining a strong and motivated workforce in the highly competitive space industry.