Viasat, a satellite operator based in Carlsbad, California, has announced that it will be laying off approximately 800 employees, which represents around 10% of its workforce. This decision is part of the company’s efforts to streamline its operations following its acquisition of Inmarsat. The reduction in workforce will be spread across Viasat and Inmarsat, impacting both companies similarly.

In May of this year, Viasat acquired the UK-based satellite operator Inmarsat in a $6.2 billion deal. At the time of the acquisition, Inmarsat had roughly 1,800 employees, while Viasat had around 6,200 employees.

The workforce reduction is expected to result in annual savings of $100 million starting from Viasat’s fiscal year 2025, which begins in April of that year. Although there will be a $45 million cost associated with rationalizing roles across both companies, Viasat anticipates that this move will help them achieve their spending target of $1.4 billion to $1.5 billion for fiscal year 2025.

Guru Gowrappan, the president of Viasat, stated that these changes align with the company’s goals of focusing spending on growth opportunities and positioning Viasat for long-term success. However, he acknowledged that the decision to reduce the workforce was a difficult one and not taken lightly.

Following the reduction, the majority of Viasat employees will still be located in the United States and the United Kingdom. More details regarding the impact of the layoffs will be announced when Viasat reports its earnings results on November 8.

This announcement comes at a challenging time for Viasat, as it deals with significant issues regarding two recently launched geostationary satellites, namely ViaSat-3 Americas and Inmarsat-6 (I-6) F2.