The New Glenn first stage mating process. Photo: Blue Origin

Blue Origin laid off 10% of its workforce on Thursday as the launcher shifts from R&D into scaling manufacturing for its launch business. 

The company is eliminating some positions in engineering, R&D, program management, and management, according to an email CEO Dave Limp sent to employees, obtained by Via Satellite. 

“Our primary focus in 2025 and beyond is to scale our manufacturing output and launch cadence with speed, decisiveness, and efficiency for our customers,” Limp wrote. “We grew and hired incredibly fast in the last few years, and with that growth came more bureaucracy and less focus than we needed. It also became clear that the makeup of our organization must change to ensure our roles are best aligned with executing these priorities.” 

Blue Origin notified impacted employees on Thursday. The layoffs impact around 1,400 of the company’s nearly 14,000 employees, according to Reuters. Blue Origin is privately owned by Jeff Bezos.

The layoffs about a month after Blue Origin reached orbit on the first launch of its New Glenn rocket. Blue Origin plans for New Glenn to compete with SpaceX and United Launch Alliance for U.S. national security missions. New Glenn is also set to deploy commercial customers, including 12 launches for Amazon’s Project Kuiper broadband constellation. 

Blue Origin plans to attempt the second New Glenn launch in late spring, Limp said earlier this week at the Commercial Space Conference in D.C., Space News reported. 

The company also performs human spaceflight missions with the New Shepard suborbital rocket, is developing the Blue Moon lunar lander, and is part of the team for the Orbital Reef commercial space station. 

Limp told employees in the email that he is “extremely confident in the enormous opportunities” ahead for the company. 

“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. We will be a stronger, faster, and more customer-focused company that consistently meets and exceeds our commitments,” Limp wrote.