SpaceX Just Got 'Leaner' Ahead of 2 Costly Projects

"Extraordinarily difficult challenges" are coming up for SpaceX—which is why it just gave the ax to a good portion of its workforce. Per Reuters and the Los Angeles Times, a spokesman for the Elon Musk-headed company announced Friday that, even though its finances are in good shape, it needed to "part ways" with 10% of its more than 6,000 employees, a "very difficult but necessary" move to get "leaner" as it continues in its efforts to deliver what CNN calls "two hugely expensive projects." Those initiatives: developing "interplanetary spacecraft and a global space-based internet," both of which are expected to cost billions to get going. It's not the first time the rocket company has slashed its ranks—at least a half-dozen senior managers were canned in June, the firings tied to disputes over the pacing of testing and development for its Starlink satellite program. (More SpaceX stories.)