Viasat to cut 10% of workforce

News

Viasat currently has around 6,800 employees, with offices in North America, Europe, and Asia

Satellite firm Viasat has announced its intention to reduce its workforce by 10%, cutting 800 roles.

The firm was acquired by Inmarsat earlier this year for $6.2 billion. As a result, the firm is undergoing a large-scale reorganisation to streamline its operations.

The firm expects $100 million annual cost saving as a result of the cuts, starting in the fiscal year 2025., However, the business expects it will cost around $45 million to rationalise roles between the two merged businesses.

Guru Gowrappan, president of Viasat, confirmed that the job cuts are “consistent with our goals to focus our spending toward our biggest growth opportunities and position Viasat for long-term success, while expanding margins and profitability”.

Inmarsat expects that once Viasat’s assets are fully integrated, they will increase the pace and scope of innovations within in the satellite connectivity sector, which will allow for improved capabilities being presented to customers, addressing the constant issues of the ever-increasing speed, flexibility, reliability, coverage, and security.

“Since we completed the acquisition of Inmarsat, our focus has been on accelerating our leading role in global mobile satellite communications by converging our technologies and organizational structures to deliver enhanced products and services to our customers. We will continue working to better unify our go-to-market approach, and maximize operational and capital productivity,” said Gowrappan in a statement.

“Our goal is to be the undisputed leader in satellite communications with a sharp focus on providing the best products and services for our customers,” he continued.

“We are more than the sum of our parts. This combination broadens the global fixed and mobile services available to customers in an industry-defining moment. We intend to move quickly to bring the best from each company together in a way that creates much deeper value for our stakeholders and ensures we deliver on our synergy commitments.”

Further details of this news are expected to be shared at Viasat’s Q2 earnings on November 8.

It makes sense that Viasat are undertaking cost-cutting measures, in part because of the current technical problems on their recently launched satellites. The ViaSat-3 and Inmarsat (1-6) F2 have both faced major issues, undoubtedly causing the firm financial strain.