In a reversal of a deal local officials touted as a win for Los Angeles tech, SpaceX will no longer be developing and building its Mars spaceship and rocket booster system at the Port of Los Angeles. Instead, the work will be done in South Texas.
SpaceX said in a statement Wednesday that the decision was made to "streamline operations."
"This decision does not impact our current manufacture, design, and launch operations in Hawthorne and Vandenberg Air Force Base," a company spokesperson said in the statement. "Additionally, SpaceX will continue recovery operations of our reusable Falcon rockets and Dragon spacecraft at the Port of Los Angeles."
Though Port of L.A. officials are "disappointed that SpaceX will not be expanding their operations at the Port of Los Angeles, we are pleased that they will continue their recovery operations here," spokesman Phillip Sanfield said in a statement.
SpaceX has completed assembly of a prototype of the Starship hopper vehicle at the South Texas facility.
Los Angeles City Councilman Joe Buscaino was told of the decision by company officials in a conference call late last week, said Branimir Kvartuc, communications director for the councilman. The company had planned to build its Starship and Super Heavy booster at the port.
In a tweet Wednesday morning, Buscaino said: "While I feel crushed about SpaceX pulling the Super Heavy out of the Port of L.A., I feel confident that other innovators will see the huge value they get in San Pedro."
The move comes just days after SpaceX, saying it needed to get "leaner," announced that it would lay off about 10 percent of the company's more than 6,000 employees. About 577 employees in Hawthorne were affected, according to a state WARN Act notice dated Friday.
