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Virgin Orbit says it hasn’t ben able to secure significant funding in recent weeks.
Matthew Horwood/Getty Images
Shares of space launch start-up
Virgin Orbit
cratered in after hours trading Thursday after the company laid off 85% of its workers.
Virgin Orbit
(ticker: VORB) stock is down 41% to 20 cents a piece. Shares fell 16% in regular trading Thursday while the
S&P 500
and
Nasdaq Composite
rose 0.6% and 0.7%, respectively.
In a Thursday afternoon filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the company said had it raised about $11 million to cover severance and related charges for letting go 675 employees, about 85% of the company’s total workforce.
The reductions were made “in light of the Company’s inability to secure meaningful funding,” according to the filing.
Virgin Orbit has been trying to secure additional funding since mid-March and has ceased some operations while trying to obtain additional cash. The company ended the third quarter of 2022 with roughly $71 million in cash on its books.
The company has used about $175 million in cash in the first nine months of 2022.
The company hasn’t responded to multiple requests for comment about funding.
At 20 cents a share, Virgin Orbit has a market capitalization of roughly $70 million.
Write to Al Root at allen.root@dowjones.com
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