Billionaire Richard Branson said he no longer plans to invest in the company he founded, Virgin Galactic, which is dedicated to suborbital tourist flights. According to the businessman, the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the financial stability of his empire.
“We are not flush with cash after COVID-19, and Virgin Galactic has about $1 billion. I think he should have enough funds to tackle the task alone,” Branson told the Financial Times.
Last month, Virgin Galactic announced a workforce reduction of around 18% (185 employees) in an effort to reduce costs. The company also said it would reduce the flight frequency of its current VSS Unity vehicle and suspend launches for 18 months starting in mid-2024, focusing resources on developing the next-generation suborbital vehicle.
Virgin Galactic says it has enough funds until 2026, when the Delta spacecraft is expected to enter service.
Richard Branson founded Virgin Galactic in 2004 to develop tourist flights into space and launch small satellites. The company made its first commercial suborbital flight in June 2023.
The company’s largest shareholder remains Virgin Group, although the group sold more than $1 billion worth of shares in 2020-2021, reducing its stake to 7.7%.
Author:
Akhmed Sadulayev
Source: RB
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