Blue Origin Plans Major Job Cuts: One in Ten Employees Could Lose Their Jobs

Reuters

The space-exploration company is aiming to streamline its operations as it seeks to achieve a crew-less lunar landing this year. According to an internal email obtained by BBC News, Blue Origin—owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos—is preparing for approximately 1,400 layoffs, which amounts to roughly 10% of the company’s total workforce.

In his memo to staff, Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp explained that these job cuts are part of a broader strategy aimed at reducing managerial positions and concentrating resources on increasing rocket launches. The company recently completed its first test flight of the New Glenn rocket, marking a significant milestone in its history.

Founded by Jeff Bezos in 2000, Blue Origin has emerged as a prominent player in the private space race; however, it is often seen lagging behind competitors such as Elon Musk’s SpaceX. In his message to employees, Limp acknowledged that the company’s organizational structure must evolve to align with its current priorities.

“Our primary focus for 2025 and beyond,” he stated in the email, “is to scale our manufacturing output and launch cadence with speed, decisiveness, and efficiency for our customers.” This shift includes reductions not only in management roles but also in research and development (R&D) as well as engineering sectors.

Mr. Bezos handed over the CEO position at Blue Origin to Dave Limp earlier this year after Limp had been working on Amazon’s customer-focused devices unit. The leadership transition was part of a strategic shift that prioritized the New Glenn rocket project, which has seen significant progress recently.

In 2023, Bezos appointed Limp as CEO at Blue Origin, marking an important change in strategy for the company. Despite facing challenges and being outperformed by SpaceX in recent years, Blue Origin’s latest development represents a crucial step forward. The powerful New Glenn rocket has the capability to transport substantial payloads into space, including satellites.

Named after John Glenn—the first American astronaut to orbit Earth over 60 years ago—this rocket surpasses SpaceX’s Falcon 9 both in power and capacity for satellite launches. Bezos plans to use it as part of his Project Kuiper initiative aimed at deploying thousands of low-earth-orbit satellites intended to provide broadband internet services, directly competing with Musk’s Starlink.