Blue Origin Recruits Amazon Alums To Revamp Company Culture

After years of delays in space launches and falling behind its primary competitor, SpaceX, Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos is turning to the same strategy that made Amazon a global powerhouse: a relentless focus on results, Fortune’s Data Sheet reported.

Blue Origin has significantly lagged behind Elon Musk’s SpaceX in the race for private satellite launches and commercial space travel. I Photo: Blue Origin X

To execute this plan, Bezos has recruited several former Amazon executives, including ex-head of devices Dave Limp, who took over as Blue Origin’s CEO in December 2023, as well as former head of supply chain Tim Collins, chief financial officer Allen Parker, and chief information officer Josh Koppleman.

“Dave doesn’t have much respect for work-life balance,” a former Blue Origin executive told the Financial Times, which first reported the story.

The leadership shake-up and cultural overhaul come at a critical time for Blue Origin, which has significantly lagged behind Elon Musk’s SpaceX in the race for private satellite launches and commercial space travel.

The disparity in success is stark: SpaceX has completed 450 orbital launches, while Blue Origin has achieved only one.

Both companies are also competing in the satellite broadband market, but SpaceX’s Starlink is operational in over 100 countries, whereas Blue Origin’s comparable Kuiper System has yet to reach space.

In February, Blue Origin announced it would lay off 10% of its 10,000-person workforce, signaling a shift in strategy as the company works to catch up.