San Francisco: June 27: Layoffs now hit the space sector as the US-based Earth monitoring company reduces around 17% of its workforce. The Planet Lab layoffs, implemented in an effort to reduce costs, affected around 180 employees at the company.  The company also announced that the decision to the layoffs was taken to focus on its resources, operational efficiency and supporting long-term growth. 

According to a report by Space News, Planet Labs laid off 17% of its workforce, about 180 employees, in its ongoing effort to increase profitability, reduce costs, and improve overall operational efficiency. The action was reportedly taken by Planet Labs to focus on aligning the company's resources to the market opportunity, as per the SEC filing. Perion Network Layoffs: Israel-Based Digital Ad Company to Lays Off 35 Employees Amid Cost-Cutting and Bing Search Engine’s Changed Pricing Mechanism.

The report mentioned that the company did not reveal the key details about the Planet Lab layoffs, such as specific roles to be cut or the location to be affected, in its filing to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The Planet announced its second major layoff in less after July 2023. Last year, the company had sacked 117 employees, which was about 10% of its total workforce during that time. 

In 2023, the company mentioned the exact reason for cutting roles, according to the report. Previously, Will Marshal, Planet Lab's CEO, stated that the company witnessed rapid growth after going public through a SPAC merger. It reportedly led to the increased cost and complexity of the company projects. Besides, it mentioned that the company had been going through broader economic issues, which led it to prioritise the highest return on investment (ROI) opportunities. India Employment Creation: Indian MSME Sector Expected To Generate Over Two Lakh New Jobs by 2025, Says Report.

With the latest workforce reduction, Planet Labs aims to improve its revenue and reduce the losses it incurred previously. Besides the job cuts, the company announced its future missions and said that it would soon launch its first hyperspectral satellite, Tanager-1. In July, the spacecraft will be launched on SpaceX's Transporter-11. 

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 27, 2024 02:00 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).