San Francisco
Global communications company Viasat is set to lay off 800 employees, roughly 10% of its workforce, with the impact affecting various geographies and divisions across the business. These layoffs are occurring as the company integrates the Inmarsat business following its acquisition, which was completed in May. After these workforce reductions, Viasat will maintain its global operations, with a majority of its employees continuing to be based in the United States and the United Kingdom. Viasat President Guru Gowrappan explained, The changes we are announcing 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. At the same time, the decision to reduce our workforce is a very difficult one, and not something we take lightly. We would like to express our gratitude to our departing colleagues for their dedication, hard work, and contributions, which have been integral to Viasat’s success story. The reduction in workforce will cost Viasat $45 million, with most of the expense incurred in the second half of fiscal year 2024. However, it is expected to save the company $100 million in annual expenses, beginning in fiscal year 2025. This move will also help Viasat reach its fiscal year 2025 CapEx target of $1.4 billion to $1.5 billion. Last month, Viasat confirmed it was finalizing insurance claims for both ViaSat-3 and the Inmarsat-6 F2, which experienced an anomaly with its power subsystem.
