Maxar/SS-L cuts 4% of staff
March 4, 2019
By Chris Forrester
Maxar Technologies, which owns the Space Systems/Loral satellite building division, suffered net losses for the year to December 31st of $1.26 billion on group revenues of $2.14 billion.
As a consequence, Maxar is laying off some 250 jobs from its 6100 overall workforce. The job losses are spread over Maxar’s Canadian MDA robotic arm business as well as offshoots DigitalGlobe and Space Systems/Loral.
“These decisions are always difficult. We realise that we have to make Maxar a leaner, more efficient, more effective business,” president and CEO Dan Jablonsky in a results call with analysts.
However, there was some revised thinking as regards its Space Systems/Loral subsidiary in Palo Alto. Maxar had considered closing the complete business – and gaining about $200 million for the site – because of the slump of geostationary satellite orders. Now the company says it has disposed of a portion of the Palo Alto site (for $70 million) but will restructure and now hold onto the bulk of the facility and focus on smaller satellites.