EarthWatch Lays Off Quarter of Staff

EarthWatch Inc. is laying off 48 employees, about a quarter of its staff, following a failed satellite launch on Nov. 21. The cuts, which take effect immediately, were across the board, but the bulk of the reductions came from operations, the people who would have processed the data coming back from the satellite. Each employee will receive a severance package. As its next launch approaches, EarthWatch hopes to hire some of the employees back.

Ball is building QuickBird 2, and its launch schedule has not changed, which is scheduled for mid-2001. EarthWatch is paying Ball between US$75 million and US$100 million for both satellites, which are insured, though media reports have published the value of QuickBird 1 at US$60 million.

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