Virgin Hyperloop has laid off 111 of its employees as it abandons the idea of making its system ready for passenger use. The Financial Times is reporting that the company is exclusively focusing on moving cargo, and has slashed almost half of its total workforce. A spokesperson confirmed to the paper that the shift in business was taking place, with supply chain issues and COVID contributing to the change.
Since its inception, the company has been developing its vacuum-tube system to carry both passengers and freight. One of the earliest concepts VH floated was an “inland port,” in which cargo vessels would put containers onto capsules that are shot inland before they’re processed. That way, the main logistics hub wouldn’t need to be beside the sea, and could instead be at the heart of a transit hub closer to customers.
It’s something that encouraged DP World, the Dubai-owned ports and logistics giant, to invest in the technology. It currently holds a majority stake in Virgin Hyperloop and in 2018 launched “Cargospeed,” as a sub-brand dedicated to moving cargo. VH has, however, been in something of a spin for the last few months after former head Josh Giegel, one of two people to actually travel in a pod, quit the company.
There was also another hyperloop effort in development, this one originally backed by SpaceX, which sponsored a competition until 2019. It has since seemingly turned into a car-tunnel project by The Boring Company. Elon Musk put the “hype” in hyperloop by claiming erroneously in 2017 that the U.S. government had approved tube travel between NYC and Washington, D.C.
Source: www.autoblog.com