Space station startup Vast cuts 4% of employees, saying they did not meet expectations in review cycle

Max Haot, the CEO of space station startup Vast.

Sam Barnes/Sportsfile for Web Summit Qatar via Getty Images Space station startup Vast cut 4% of its employees this week, Business Insider has learned.

The startup is building a commercial replacement for the International Space Station.

A Vast spokesperson said the cuts were performance-related and the startup is looking to backfill them.

Space station startup Vast has cut 4% of its workforce as the new space race heats up.

The startup, which is developing a commercial replacement for the International Space Station (ISS), fired 46 employees on Wednesday, Business Insider has learned.

The cuts come months after Vast raised $500 million in a funding round aimed at launching the world's first commercial space station in 2027.

A spokesperson for the startup confirmed the cuts, which they said were performance-related.

They added that the company was still hiring and had 277 open roles.

"As part of our mid-year review cycle, Vast parted ways with employees who were not meeting expectations.

We are backfilling these positions and are continuing to grow and execute," the spokesperson said.

Business Insider spoke to two employees affected by the job losses, who said no issues had been raised about the quality or output of their work during their 1:1s with managers or in performance reviews over the past few months.

While many tech companies have been reducing their workforces in recent years, it is rare for mass cuts to explicitly be performance-based.

Last year, Meta cut 5% of its staff and said it was focusing on its lowest performers.