Blue Origin, the space company founded by Amazon leader Jeff Bezos, will undertake a round of job cuts as it looks to rein in costs and accelerate rocket launches.

The layoffs – which come after years of heavy investment in research and development – are expected to impact hundreds, if not a thousand, employees, Bloomberg News reported, citing sources familiar with the matter.

The retrenchment follows the long-awaited debut of Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket, a project that has spanned three CEOs and faced repeated delays.

Despite the milestone, the company is said to be under pressure to shift gears from R&D to a more frequent launch schedule, a challenge CEO Dave Limp acknowledged during a recent industry conference.

“We have a lot of work to do ahead of us, and we have to get to a cadence where we’re flying very often; got to get the manufacturing to a higher cadence,” Limp said. “But it’s such a good first step to see it happen.”

The upcoming workforce reductions are reportedly part of a strategic pivot for Blue Origin as it seeks to compete more aggressively in the commercial space sector.

The company, once a leader in visionary space projects, has seen rivals – particularly Elon Musk’s SpaceX – surpass it in both launch frequency and technological advancements.

Limp, a former Amazon executive, was brought in last year to inject momentum into Blue Origin’s operations.

Among his key priorities is ramping up New Glenn’s launch cadence and delivering on roughly US$10 billion worth of existing launch contracts.

However, streamlining the workforce appears to be part of the strategy to make the company more agile.

The layoffs will be discussed in an all-hands meeting with Limp on 13 February, sources said.

Blue Origin vs SpaceX: Competition in the space tech industry

Founded in 2000, Blue Origin has expanded into a multifaceted space business, spanning space tourism, a lunar lander program, a planned space station, and the production of rocket engines.

At its peak, the company employed around 14,000 people across facilities in Washington, Florida, Texas, and Alabama.

Yet, despite its broad ambitions, Blue Origin has often drawn unflattering comparisons to SpaceX, which has dominated the industry with rapid innovation and a relentless launch schedule.

While SpaceX has repeatedly set new records, Blue Origin has struggled with delays, cost overruns, and leadership transitions.

The space sector is entering a new era of commercial competition, where speed and efficiency are paramount.

As Blue Origin trims its workforce and recalibrates its focus, the coming months will test whether the company can shift from an R&D-heavy culture to a launch-focused operation that keeps pace with its rivals.

For now, many employees are bracing for what could be the largest shake-up in the company’s history – a sign that even in the space industry, gravity applies to budgets and headcounts alike.