New Delhi: Astra, a struggling space firm, has reduced its overall workforce by approximately 25 per cent, including a reduction of nearly 70 employees.
The concerned employees primarily supported SG&A, Astra’s launch, and shared services functions.
To support the company’s expanding customer base and an order backlog of its spacecraft engines, Astra Space announced a strategic reallocation of its staff from its Launch Services organisation to its Astra Spacecraft Engines Company.
Astra last announced 278 cumulative committed orders of The Astra Spacecraft Engine had received 278 cumulative committed orders since its last announcement, representing approximately $77 million of the contract value.
Astra said in a statement that it had relocated about 50 engineering and manufacturing personnel from Launch Services to Space Products to support the Astra Spacecraft Engine business.
“We are intensely focused on delivering on our commitments to our customers, which includes ensuring we have sufficient resources and an adequate financial runway to execute on our near-term opportunities,” said Chris Kemp, Founder, Chairman and CEO.
As per preliminary second-quarter financial results, Astra is expected to have revenues between $0.5-$1 million while having just $26-$26.5 million in cash on hand.
US-based rocket startup Astra went public in 2021 and fired 16 per cent of its staff last year as part of a wider strategy to increase the shrinking financial runway and decrease expenses.
In late 2023, the company expected to conduct initial flight tests.
