Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin is laying off 10% of its employees this week, the rocket company announced Thursday. 

Blue Origin CEO David Limp informed employees of the incoming layoffs in a memo, confirming that around 1,400 workers would be cut from the company’s workforce of 14,000.

“Our primary focus in 2025 and beyond is to scale our manufacturing output and launch cadence with speed, decisiveness, and efficiency for our customers,” Mr. Limp wrote in the memo. “We grew and hired incredibly fast in the last few years, and with that growth came more bureaucracy and less focus than we needed.”

The layoffs will reportedly impact employees in development, engineering and research departments, along with project managers.

The company did not confirm if the layoffs will impact the development of Blue Origin’s New Glenn Rocket. The company successfully launched the rocket into orbit last month after facing numerous technical challenges.

Blue Origin has been a passion project for Mr. Bezos for years, with the billionaire pouring tens of billions of dollars into the venture. In the past, Mr. Bezos has said he wants Blue Origin to develop aerospace technology that will be used to move Earth’s polluting industries into space. 

• Vaughn Cockayne can be reached at vcockayne@washingtontimes.com.