WASHINGTON — Weeks after cutting 13% of its workforce, imaging company Satellogic announced it is laying off an additional 70 employees and slowing deployment of new satellites.
In a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission after markets closed June 14, Satellogic announced it was laying off about 70 employees, roughly 30% of its workforce. The company did not disclose details about the positions affected or in what locations.
The layoffs come just three weeks after the company announced another round of layoffs that affected 34 employees, of about 13% of its workforce at the time. The new cuts would bring the company down to about 160 employees, less than half the size of the company at the start of last year.
The company is also slowing the deployment of new “Mark V” imaging satellites that can take imagery at a native resolution of 70 centimeters and also offer onboard processing. “The Company has recently been successful in deploying and operationalizing its new Mark V satellites. As a result of this successful deployment, the Company expects to reduce investment into its constellation growth initiatives at this time,” it stated in the SEC filing.
Satellogic has launched seven Mark V satellites to date, most recently on the SpaceX Transporter-10 rideshare mission in March. The company planned to launch three more on Transporter-11 in July, the company reported in May.
The layoffs and reductions in satellite deployments are intended to conserve the company’s cash. The reported a net loss of $61 million in 2023 and ended the year with $23.5 million of cash on hand. The company announced in April it raised $30 million from cryptocurrency company Tether Investments Ltd.
The company had blamed the losses on revenues that had grown far more slowly than previously projected. The company generated $10.1 million in revenue in 2023, but in documents filed with the SEC in November 2021 as part of a deal to go public through a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) merger, projected $132 million in revenue in 2023.
Satellogic had, last September, projected $38 million to $58 million in revenues in 2024, but the company announced in April it was withdrawing that guidance. The SPAC projections from November 2021 had forecast $365 million in revenues in 2024.
“As we continue to evaluate all strategic options going forward, we are redoubling our efforts to put Satellogic on a path towards profitability,” Emiliano Kargieman, chief executive of Satellogic, said in a statement included in the latest SEC filing. “Now that our Mark V satellites are operational, we are reducing our constellation growth and corresponding capital expenditures, allowing us to make some necessary adjustments, including workforce reductions, to ensure we are operating efficiently and are well-positioned for future success.”
