"We have no choice but to implement immediate, dramatic and extremely painful changes," Hart said, audibly choking up on the call. Those investor discussions continued this week, with Hart earlier saying leadership would share any updates "as quickly and transparently as we can," noting that leaking emails "is against company policy," according to copies of Hart's emails from Tuesday and Wednesday obtained by CNBC. Branson has first priority over Virgin Orbit's assets, as the company raised $60 million in debt from the investment arm of Virgin Group