Astra lays off 16% after practically tripling workforce within the final yr • TechCrunch

Astra, a rocket startup that went public final yr, informed buyers Tuesday it laid off 16% of its workforce as a part of a wider technique to extend shrinking monetary runway and reduce bills.

The corporate additionally stated it might scale back near-term investments in house companies to develop its core companies: particularly, launch and spacecraft engines. This latter phase specifically has change into a rising income for Astra, with the corporate reporting it had 237 dedicated orders for its spacecraft engines to entities together with Maxar, OneWeb and Astroscale. That represents a rise of 130% from final quarter.

Astra can also be creating Launch System 2, together with a brand new rocket, software program suite and floor system, to interchange the light-weight Rocket 3 car that encountered quite a few launch failures this yr. (Astra introduced again in August that it was concluding that rocket program solely.) The corporate expects to conduct preliminary flight checks within the latter half of 2023.

The brand new monetary technique comes just some months after Astra employed a brand new COO, Axel Martinez, a profession government with in depth expertise in capital administration. On the time, an individual accustomed to the matter informed TechCrunch that the house firm wanted that experience in a risk-averse fairness setting, with excessive inflation, rates of interest and different components bearing down throughout markets.

The layoffs shine an unflattering mild on Astra’s fast progress: CEO Chris Kemp informed buyers throughout a name Tuesday that the corporate tripled in measurement within the house of a yr, swelling to greater than 400 folks. Provided that quantity, Astra diminished its headcount by at the very least 64 folks.

The corporate concluded the quarter with $151 million in money. It reported $2.8 million in income from its spacecraft engines and a internet lack of $199.1 million. Astra anticipates payroll financial savings from the layoffs to be realized within the first quarter of subsequent yr.