[Satellite TODAY 10-02-12] Canadian satellite component manufacturer Com Dev International will lay off 31 employees as part of an effort to restructure its Canadian government space division and eliminate uncertainty about the future of its Radarsat Constellation project, the company confirmed Oct. 2.

      The restructuring is expected to cost about $2 million. The Radarsat Constellation project is a three-satellite program that was initiated in 2005, with launches planned for 2016 and 2017. 

      Com Dev CEO Michael Pley said 10 other employees would be transferred to open positions in other divisions at the company. “The lack of new program opportunities from the Canadian Space Agency in the foreseeable future has forced us to take action,” Pley said in a statement. “The funding situation on the [Canadian Space Agency’s] CSA’s Radarsat Constellation mission is still uncertain and, if not resolved in the near future, will result in further job losses once development funding runs out later this year.”

      Com Dev currently employs more than 1,250 people in Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom.