Planet, a San Francisco-based satellite imagery company, is laying off 117 employees — 10% of its workforce — as it burns through its once-massive coffers.
The job cuts, announced Tuesday in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing and a note to employees from CEO William Marshall, hit every division in Planet’s global workforce. Marshall said in his note that laid-off employees will get at least 14 weeks of severance pay, plus cash for health care, immigration support and career counseling.
“At the outset, I want to be clear that I am responsible for the decisions that led us here,” Marshall wrote. “I know this has significant effects on the lives of our team and their families, and for that I am sorry.”
Headquartered in SoMa, Planet says it operates more than 200 orbiting satellites that deliver Earth imagery data to customers in agriculture, forestry and energy industries. The company went public through a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) merger in late 2021 in a deal that valued the company at $2.8 billion. At the time, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer Ashley Johnson told CNBC the merger put $500 million on the firm’s balance sheet, three-fifths of which would serve as a “war chest” for future opportunities.
In his Tuesday note, Marshall wrote, “Our cash position is strong and we believe we are well positioned to compete and succeed in an uncertain economic environment.”
But the firm’s most recent financial report tells of recent difficulties. Planet lost $34 million from February to the end of April, and its coffers are dwindling: In April 2022, the firm had about $490 million in cash and cash equivalents (a term typically used for short-term investments), but a year later, that stockpile was down to $146 million.
Like other Bay Area tech firms that went public in 2021 through an SPAC, Planet’s stock has tumbled since its listing, and the company is far from profitable. Under pressure from investors to cut costs, layoffs have proliferated at firms large and small.
Striking a somber tone in his message to employees, Marshall blamed the job cuts on the firm’s costly and complex expansion, which he said slowed down the company, as well as the shifting economy. He also thanked the laid-off “Planeteers” for their work.
The workers will be officially let go on Oct. 2, according to a WARN notice filed by the company, and 85 of the layoffs will hit San Francisco employees. Five of Planet’s vice presidents will get pink slips, as will several directors and over a dozen engineers. WARN notices are mandated by the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act to give affected workers 60 days’ notice before terminating their employment.
Much of the company’s leadership team works from San Francisco, but Planet also has offices in Berlin, the Netherlands, and Arlington, Virginia. The firm did not respond to SFGATE’s request for comment.
Hear of anything happening at Planet? Contact tech reporter Stephen Council securely at stephen.council@sfgate.com or on Signal at 628-204-5452.