SpaceX to lay off 10 percent of workforce

Jan. 11 (UPI) -- SpaceX plans to cut more than 10 percent of its workforce, the aerospace company announced Friday.

President Gwynne Shotwell, in an email to employees obtained by the Los Angles Times, said the reduction was a "difficult but necessary decision." CNBC confirmed the news.

"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 a statement. "Either of these developments, even when attempted separately, have bankrupted other organizations. This means we must part ways with some talented and hardworking members of our team."

SpaceX's website says it currently has about 6,000 employees, meaning a 10 percent reduction would affect roughly 600 people.

The news came hours after the company's Falcon 9 rocket delivered the final batch of Iridium NEXT satellites into space Friday morning. It was the first 2019 rocket launch in the United States.