Bezos-led Blue Origin rocket company to cut 10 percent of its workforce

Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin rocket company plans to lay off 10% of its workforce as it seeks to revamp its operations to better compete with Elon Musk’s SpaceX.

In a Thursday email to employees, Blue Origin chief executive Dave Limp said the company is eliminating some engineering and research jobs while also cutting out middle management. Limp described the move as part of a broader attempt to increase the company’s manufacturing output and conduct regular launches for rockets such as New Glenn, which completed its inaugural trip to orbit last month. (Bezos owns the Washington Post.)

“We grew and hired incredibly fast in the last few years, and with that growth came more bureaucracy and less focus than we needed,” wrote in the email obtained by the Post.

Blue Origin declined to comment on the email. The company said it has more than 10,000 employees but declined to provide a specific number.

Limp, who became CEO in late 2023 following roles at Amazon and Apple, is restructuring the company at a time when it wants to scale up its operations to compete with SpaceX.

SpaceX has become the space industry’s dominant player, with its reusable Falcon 9 rocket conducting hundreds of launches in recent years to support the company’s Starlink internet service and other commercial endeavors.

Blue Origin wants its New Glenn and smaller New Shepard rockets to also launch more regularly, but Limp said that the company’s hiring structure needs to be more efficient and focused. Blue Origin will still add employees following the layoffs, Limp said in the staff email.

“We will continue to invest, invent, and hire hundreds of positions in areas that will help us achieve our goals and best serve our customers,” Limp wrote.