--- title: "Surprise Announcement: SpaceX to Lay off 10 Percent of Workforce" description: "SpaceX said Friday that it plans to lay off 10 percent of its workforce — an eyebrow-raising move for a company emerging from a record-shattering year." date: "2019-01-12" modified: "2019-01-12" authors: - name: "Jon Christian" job_title: "Executive Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jonc" url: "https://futurism.com/spacex-lay-off-10-percent-workforce" categories: - "Space" - "SpaceX" tags: - "elon musk" - "SpaceX" - "starlink" - "Starship" --- # Surprise Announcement: SpaceX to Lay off 10 Percent of Workforce ![SpaceX said Friday that it plans to lay off 10 percent of its workforce — an eyebrow-raising move for a company emerging from a record-shattering year.]() *\Image: SpaceX\* ## Fire Booster Spacetech venture SpaceX said Friday that it plans to lay off 10 percent of its workforce — an eyebrow-raising move for a company emerging from a [record-shattering year](). "To continue delivering for our customers and to succeed in developing interplanetary spacecraft and a global space-based Internet, SpaceX must become a leaner company," a company spokesperson [said in a statement]() that called the layoffs a "strategic realignment." ## Inflection Point *Space News* [reports that]() the layoffs are the first major workforce reduction since the company was founded in 2002, though it did fire a number of workers in 2014. This time, SpaceX is blaming the layoffs on an ambitious slate of projects. "To continue delivering for our customers and to succeed in developing interplanetary spacecraft and a global space-based Internet, SpaceX must become a leaner company," the company said, in reference to its Starship, Super Heavy, and Starlink constellation projects. “Either of these developments, even when attempted separately, have bankrupted other organizations." ## Brighter Tomorrow The move comes just a day after CEO Elon Musk [showed off]() the company's recently-assembled Starship space vehicle, and [a month before]() the company plans to test its commercial crew launch vehicle in preparation for launching humans to the International Space Station. But so far, the enigmatic CEO has yet to tweet about the layoffs. **READ MORE:** [SpaceX cutting 10 percent of its staff to become a leaner company]() \[*Ars Technica*\] ***More on Elon Musk:** [Elon Musk Wanders Tesla Factory, Firing Workers in Wild Mood Swings]()* ## Author I'm responsible for editing, assigning, and scouting at Futurism, as well as occasionally writing for the site. That work involves keeping an eye on a wide range of narratives and issues, but over the past few years I've become increasingly interested in how AI is shaping the future of media, the web, and information itself. My day-to-day often involves collaborating on reporting and commentary projects bylined by my colleagues, but I try to find time to do my own reporting as well; stories I've broken for Futurism have been cited by publications including the New York Times, the Washington Post, the New Yorker, Wired, Ars Technica, New York Magazine, the Columbia Journalism Review, Bloomberg, and more. I grew up in Southern Vermont and attended Vanderbilt University. Prior to Futurism, I contributed to outlets including the Boston Globe, Vice, Wired, Slate, the Atlantic, the Outline, Ars Technica and more, and did stints in farming and food service. I currently live in Brooklyn, New York, and in my free time I enjoy pinball, word games, cycling, running, and music production. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()