Sierra Space, the subsidiary of private aerospace contractor Sierra Nevada Corporation, has laid off several hundred of its employees and contractors this week, CNBC reported.
The media outlet noted a company spokesperson confirmed Sierra Space let go of about 165 employees on Thursday but declined to specify the number of contractors affected.
The company had about 2,000 employees before the staff cuts, the spokesperson said.
Sierra Space shipped the first Dream Chaser spaceplane, named Tenacity, this week for pre-launch testing at NASA’s Armstrong facility in Ohio.
Dream Chaser, which resembles a miniaturized NASA Space Shuttle, has been in development for years with a goal to deliver cargo and eventually crew to low Earth orbit as a reusable vehicle.
The Sierra Space spokesperson added that the company is now realigning to focus on the operations phase of Dream Chaser’s first mission, as well as on classified national security work.
In September, Sierra Space raised nearly $290 million in new funds in a round led by Japanese investors MUFG, Kanematsu and Tokio Marine, valuing the space company at $5.3 billion.
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