Virgin Galactic top honcho Richard Branson has promised that in the coming months his company will allot $250 million as part of an emergency fund to protect workers from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
The businessman made the pledge in a blog post in which he said his companies were in a "huge fight to survive" in the ongoing global distress.
In the blog, the billionaire entrepreneur said they are trying to thrive and keep as much workers as possible from losing their jobs as many of the companies are in sectors like travel, leisure and wellness. He did not say if the $250 million was for all furloughed employees' pay.
Branson said almost all of their planes had to be grounded, cruise lines had to delay their launch, fitness clubs and hotels had to close their doors and all bookings for the company's holiday business called off. The owner of the Virgin Galactic said COVID-19 is, in his lifetime "the most important crisis the planet has witnessed."
Virgin Galactic is a space exploration company that develops commercial space vehicles whose objective is to provide suborbital flights to space tourists and launches for space science missions. It employs more than 70,000 people in 35 countries across the globe.
Late last month, Branson told Reuters that the new Virgin Cruise Line will resolve concerns about the dreaded coronavirus that has since spread to more countries and has jolted markets and industries around key regions of continents.
In the stock market on Monday, Virgin Galactic's shares felt the pain, like any other stock now apparently. The company's stock has plunged from the highs by around 78 percent by end of the bell.
Virgin Galactic produced last quarter revenues of $529,000 which is essentially nothing for a $2.4 billion business. And while the global health scare should not affect the group's sales, it is not clear whether under these conditions this is necessarily a pleasant one.
The 69-year old tycoon's pledge comes after he was lambasted last week by Labour after Virgin Atlantic disclosed it notified its employees to take eight weeks of unpaid leave after a sharp drop in sales.
Branson is one of Britain's most popular businessmen who started his career in the 1970s in the music recording prior to venturing into banking, television, airlines, healthclubs and space, among other businesses.
As it stands, the ongoing global health situation has caused a heavy selloff in the financial and stock markets, as investors dump equities and seek the comfort of safe haven assets. Many equities - Virgin Galactic included - continue to drop.
