A rendering of the Dream Chaser spaceplane in orbit.
sierra space
Sierra Space, one of the sector’s most valuable private companies, laid off hundreds of employees and contractors this week, CNBC reported.
A Sierra Space spokesperson confirmed that the company had laid off about 165 employees on Thursday, but did not say how many contractors would be affected. Former Sierra Space employees told CNBC that the layoffs included a significant number of contractors, and the layoffs totaled several hundred people.
The fired employees received two weeks’ paid absence notice, plus four weeks of severance and medical benefits through the end of the year. Sierra Space had about 2,000 employees before the layoffs, a company spokeswoman said.
The Colorado-based company, which was recently valued at more than $5 billion, is working hard to fly the long-awaited first mission of its Dream Chaser spaceplane.
Sierra Space shipped its first Dream Chaser, named Tenacity, this week for pre-launch testing at NASA’s Armstrong Facility in Ohio. A Sierra Space spokesperson noted that the company ramped up hiring this year to complete work on the Tenacity spacecraft, and said the layoffs began shortly after.
Following Tenacity’s shipment, a Sierra Space spokesperson said the company is recalibrating to focus on the operational phase of Dream Chaser’s first mission and sensitive national security operations.
The second half of Sierra Space’s restructuring includes the addition of approximately 150 employees with security clearances from Sierra Nevada, an aerospace and defense contractor owned by Sierra Nevada. Fatih and Ellen Ozmen, the space company became independent two years ago. A Sierra Space spokesperson said the company is creating a national security space team that will work on several sensitive contracts.
Sierra Space recently lost two senior executives, chief operating officer Jeff Babione (retired) and senior vice president of space development Neeraj Gupta, before the layoffs. The company said the departures are unrelated.
Two months ago, Sierra raised just under $300 million at a valuation of $5.3 billion.
Dream Chaser has been in development for years with the goal of being a reusable vehicle to deliver cargo and eventually crew into low Earth orbit. It looks like a miniaturized version of NASA’s Space Shuttle, and is built to launch on top of a conventional rocket and land on a runway like an airplane.
Dream Chaser’s first launch was previously scheduled for late last year, but delays in the development of United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan rocket pushed that schedule back. Dream Chaser is scheduled to launch on ULA’s second Vulcan mission, with the first Vulcan launch scheduled for December.
Dream Chaser has been awarded a NASA contract to fly seven cargo missions to and from the International Space Station.