Virgin Orbit files for Chapter 11

Less than a week after saying it would lay off almost all its staff, Virgin Orbit filed for bankruptcy under the relatively lenient Chapter 11 provisions offered in the US. The April 4 announcement followed “the company’s previous statement about reducing its workforce due to an inability to raise sufficient out-of-court capital”. The company said the “cutting edge technology” it had developed during its roughly half-decade of operations would attract buyers. To help fund the Chapter 11 proceedings and to keep going, Virgin Orbit said it had “received a commitment” from Virgin Investments for $31.6 million.