Virgin Orbit fails to secure funding, will cease operations and lay off nearly entire workforce

Virgin Orbit is ceasing operations “for the foreseeable future” after failing to secure a funding lifeline, CEO Dan Hart told employees during an all-hands meeting on Thursday afternoon, and will layoff nearly all of its workforce.

“Unfortunately we’ve not been able to secure the funding to provide a clear path for this company,” Hart said, according to audio of the 5 p.m. ET meeting obtained by CNBC.

“We have no choice but to implement immediate, dramatic and extremely painful changes,” Hart said, audibly choking up on the call. He added that this would be “probably the hardest all-hands that we’ve ever done in my life.”

The company will eliminate all but 100 positions, amounting to about 90% of the workforce, Hart said, noting the layoffs will affect every team and department. In a securities filing, the company said the layoffs constituted 675 positions, or approximately 85%.

Virgin Orbit will “provide a severance package for every departing” employee, Hart said, with a cash payment, extension of benefits, and support in finding a new position – with a “direct pipeline” set up with sister company Virgin Galactic for hiring.

Hart has been giving the company’s employees brief daily updates since Monday, when Virgin Orbit last-minute delayed a scheduled all-hands meeting. Late-stage deal talks had fallen through with a pair of investors over the weekend, but Hart told staff on Monday that “very dynamic” investment discussions were continuing.

Those investor discussions continued this week – with Hart saying leadership would share any updates “as quickly and transparently as we can,” noting that leaking emails “is against company policy,” according to copies of Hart’s emails from Tuesday and Wednesday obtained by CNBC.

The company this week has been steadily bringing back more of its employees from the…