Elon Musk's SpaceX said to be planning to cut 10 per cent of workforce

Elon Musk's SpaceX will lay off about 10 percent of its more than 6,000 employees, a source familiar with the matter said on Friday. The company did not comment on the number of layoffs but said in emailed comments that it needs to become a "leaner" organisation for which it would "part ways" with some of its workforce. "To continue delivering for our customers and to succeed in developing interplanetary spacecraft and a global space-based Internet, SpaceX must become a leaner company", a SpaceX spokesman said. SpaceX launched its first rocket of 2019 early Friday. It has a busy year ahead, with a critical demonstration flight scheduled for February for its Crew Dragon spacecraft that will eventually carry American astronauts to the International Space Station. Last week, SpaceX disclosed in a regulatory filing that it had sold $273 million in equity as part of plans to raise a total of $500 million. The Wall Street Journal reported in December that the rocket company was planning to raise the funds at a $30.5 billion valuation.