Beyond Meat to slash 200 jobs, including several top executives, amid declining sales

COO Doug Ramsey, who allegedly bit man's nose at football game last month, is among the departures

Beyond Meat, which sells plant-based meat substitutes, has slashed its revenue expectations and announced it will lay off 20% of its workforce before the end of 2022.

 File Photo by Justin Lane/EPA-EFE

Oct. 14 (UPI) -- Beyond Meat plans to slash nearly 20% of its workforce amid rapidly declining sales, and several of the company's top executives are among the most notable casualties -- including its chief operating officer who is facing assault charges for allegedly biting a man's nose at a college football game in Arkansas last month.

The job cuts, revealed this week in a regulatory filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, affect about 200 employees altogether and will be carried out through the end of the year.

Headlining the shakeup is a major reshuffling of the company's top brass, with its recently installed COO Doug Ramseystepping down late last week after news of his arrest went public in September, the filing revealed.

Also departing is Chief Growth Officer Deanna Jurgens, whose role was eliminated; and Chief Financial Officer Philip Hardin, who resigned earlier this week to take another job.

The company, which sells plant-based meat substitutes, is betting that the savings gained from the job cuts will create more favorable financial conditions in 2023 after downgrading its fourth-quarter revenue projections.

Only two months ago, the company announced it was laying off 4% of its workers following a disappointing second quarter as consumers turned to cheaper brands at the supermarket amid surging inflation.

The SEC filing also showed Beyond Meat adjusted down its overall revenue expectations for 2022, with analysts predicting revenue of $481 million, down from a previous forecast of $520 million.

The company suspended Ramsey in September when it was revealed that he was arrested in Fayetteville, Ark., for allegedly beating up a driver outside Razorback Stadium after someone ran into his car.

The 53-year-old Ramsey was arrested and charged with making terroristic threats and third-degree battery. Court records say Ramsey punched through the back windshield of a Subaru after it clipped his front tire in a parking garage. From there, Ramsey punched the man and bit his nose, "ripping the flesh on the tip of the nose," police said in the arrest report after they found "two males with bloody faces."

A witness also told police Ramsey threatened to kill the driver

The incident came as a shock as Ramsey had been on the job at Beyond Meat for less than a year, arriving in December after a successful 30-year career at Tyson Foods.

Replacing Ramsey will be Lubi Kutua, who has been appointed to head up the company's finances after previously serving as Beyond Meat's vice president for financial planning and analysis.

Jonathan Nelson, the company's senior vice president of manufacturing and Ramsey's previous interim fill-in, was appointed to oversee Beyond Meat's business operations moving forward.
RELATEDMcDonald's to roll out meatless McPlant burger in 600 new U.S. locations next month

The shakeup sent Beyond Meat's stock tumbling more than 7% during early trading on Friday.

GEMOLOGY

Sotheby's to auction off blue diamonds valued at $70 million

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Sotheby's will auction more than $70 Million of rare blue diamonds through the spring of 2023. 

Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo

Oct. 13 (UPI) -- Sotheby's will be auctioning off a set of eight rare blue diamonds valued at over $70 million at their Magnificent Jewels Auction in New York, Hong Kong and Geneva in 2022 and 2023. The diamond collection from De Beers is among the most valuable ever to be offered up for auction.

The diamonds were purchased in 2020 by De Beers and Diacore from the Cullinan mine in South Africa, the same mine that was the source of a 15.10-karat Fancy Vivid Blue diamond that sold for $57.5 million in April

"After two years of meticulously perfecting these diamonds, we are incredibly proud and excited to reveal the astonishing De Beers Exceptional Collection, and to join forces once again with De Beers to create and bring to market some of the world's rarest diamonds," said Diacore chairman Nir Livnat.

The first auction will be held in Geneva on Nov. 9, with further auctions held in New York later this year, followed by Hong Kong in the spring of 2023.

"Nearly six months after we set a new benchmark for one of the highest prices achieved for a blue diamond at auction with the $57.5 million sale of the De Beers Blue, we are honored to be entrusted with this superb collection fo Fancy Blue Diamonds," Quig Bruning, the head of Sotheby's Jewels America, said.

Four of the eight blue diamonds were graded by the Gemological Institute of America as "Fancy Vivid," which is the highest color grading for colored diamonds.

U$A
Consumer price index increase slows to 8.2%, still among highest since 1980s


Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on Wall Street on Sept. 16. The consumer price index for September topped what Dow Jones economists had predicted on Thursday. 

Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo

Oct. 13 (UPI) -- The consumer price index increased by 0.4% in September and 8.2% from this time in 2021 while the yearly core rate increased by 6.6% to its highest point since 1982, according to the latest statistics released Thursday.

The year-to-year index, the so-called headline inflation indication, slowed from the 9% increase in June but remained the highest since the early 1980s, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said. It also marked the second monthly increase after falling flat in July.

The "core" CPI, which excludes the volatile food and energy sectors, increased 0.6% in September, above the 0.4% predicted by Dow Jones economists, according to CNBC.

Energy continued to be the main driver of inflation, while dropping 2.1% in September, it remained at 19.8% over last year's index

Food prices increased 0.8% for the second straight month while showing an 11.2% increase over 2021 prices. Food had shown increases of more than 1% in March, May, June and July.

That inflation growth above the expected pace sparked fears that the Federal Reserve will continue to increase rates. In September, the Fed bumped up interest rates by 0.75 percentage points to the range of 3% to 3.25% after it remained near zero as recently as March.

"The Federal Reserve has made it very clear they're committed to price stability, they're committed to reducing the inflationary pressures," said Michelle Meyer, chief U.S. economist at the Mastercard Economics Institute, according to CNBC.

"The more inflation comes in above expectations, the more they're going to have to prove that commitment, which means higher interest rates and cooling in the underlying economy."

UPDATED

UK: Jeremy Hunt replaces Kwasi Kwarteng as finance minister

Prime Minister Liz Truss has said Kwarteng had "put the national interest first" by agreeing to her demand that he step aside less than six weeks into the job.

Jeremy Hunt previously served as health and foreign minister

British Prime Minister Liz Truss on Friday dismissed Finance Minister Kwasi Kwarteng.

She named former Foreign Minister Jeremy Hunt as his replacement.

"You have asked me to stand aside as your chancellor. I have accepted," Kwarteng wrote in a letter to Truss.

The prime minister replied: "I deeply respect the decision you have taken today. You have put the national interest first ... I know that you will continue to support the mission that we share to deliver a low tax, high wage, high growth economy."

Why did Kwasi Kwarteng have to go?

Truss and Kwarteng have been scrambling to reassure markets and lawmakers after a September 23 tax-cutting "mini-budget" that plunged the UK into economic maelstrom. 

Kwarteng had been in Washington for annual talks withthe International Monetary Fund. Before leaving the US capital, Kwarteng insisted he was safe in his role as Chancellor of the Exchequer, as the position of finance minister is known.

However, Truss had reportedly already been seeking a replacement to stave off threats to her own job. It is expected that a U-turn on that budget is to be announced later on Friday.

According to British media reports, Truss was considering reversing further aspects of her government's controversial plans, which sparked market turmoil when they were announced.

In September, Kwarteng announced tax cuts — twinned with heavy borrowing — that spooked markets.

That announcement sent interest that the government would have to pay on borrowing soaring. Meanwhile, thepounds sterling slumped to a record low against the US dollar.

The UK government has alreadyabandoned its intention to cut taxes for the highest earners. Multiple media reports have also suggested Truss and Kwarteng are about to reverse a decision to halt a rise in business tax.

What might happen next?

TheUK's central bank has moved to reassure investors, including pension funds, that have lent money to the UK government.

The Bank of England began an emergency purchase scheme of government debt bonds at the end of September, hoping to stave off a market collapse. However, those efforts are set to end on Friday.

The financial and political chaos has fueled speculation about whether Truss can survive in office after less than 40 days as prime minister.

Truss — the fourth prime minister in six years in Britain — was elected by members of the Conservative Party rather than the broader UK electorate.

jsi, rc/fb (dpa, AFP, Reuters, AP)

DW RECOMMENDS

Anarchy in the UK? Liz Truss' policies unleash financial chaos

Liz Truss has endured a brutal start to her tenure as UK prime minister. Her first major policy move led to financial chaos and a humiliating U-turn. Her position is already in doubt, as the country's economic woes grow.  

Date 14.10.2022

British government denies Truss tax cuts reversals, but chancellor says "lets see"

UK Prime Minister Liz Truss' government denies multiple media reports that it is in talks to reverse some of the huge tax cuts it has proposed in the chancellor's mini-budget. 

Photo by Hugo Philpott/UPI | License Photo

Oct. 13 (UPI) -- The British government is denying media reports that it is in talks on a policy U-turn on cutting corporate tax rates in Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng's mini-budget.

As economic fallout continues from Prime Minister Liz Truss' huge tax cut, Kawarteng said the position hasn't changed, but said, "let's see" when asked about a potential reversal.

Media reports Thursday said the government is in talks to scrap some of Truss' fiscal plan - including corporate tax and dividend tax cuts - in the chancellor's mini-budget.

According to BBC News, Chancellor Kwarteng said, "Our position hasn't changed." But under questioning he also said, "let's see" when asked about the potential U-turn on tax cuts, according to The Guardian.

RELATED  Truss says government will not slash spending despite tax cut plan

He also refused to rule out changing other aspects of the Truss government's £43 billion tax cut package.

According to Sky News, the prime minister's official spokesman confirmed the government's fiscal policy hasn't changed, saying, "Yes, as I said to a number of questions on this yesterday -- and the position has not changed from what I set out to you all then."

The British government just last week revealed a plan to eliminate the top 45% taxation rate on earnings above $168,000 a year as Truss after public backlash against it.

The British pound plunged against the dollar and there was a bond sell-off when Truss first announced the massive tax cuts.

But on Thursday, the pound rose 1.8% against the dollar after multiple, media reports said the government was in talks to do away with parts of the unfunded tax cuts.

On Wednesday, Truss said during prime minister's questions in Parliament that she's not willing to slash public spending amid the tax cuts.

RELATED British PM Liz Truss vows to push ahead with tax-cut agenda

The Institute of Fiscal Studies said earlier this month that the British government would need to find $69 billion in some combination of spending cuts or tax increases to avoid increasing the British public debt.

'Difficult decisions needed': Truss walks back on spending cuts pledge

Departments face uncertainty over their budgets amid economic crisis

PM Liz Truss. Photo: PA/Alamy

By Tevye Markson
13 Oct 2022

The prime minister has backpedalled after telling MPs there will be no public spending cuts in the wake of last month's mini-budget.

During prime minister’s questions on Wednesday, Liz Truss reaffirmed her commitment to not making public spending cuts to fund her controversial tax cuts and borrowing plans.

But Truss’s spokesperson later warned: “We are clear there will need to be difficult decisions to be taken given some of the global challenges we’re facing."

The PM had told MPs in the commons that she would “absolutely” keep her promise to maintain current spending levels.

Instead, she said the government would “make sure we spend public money well”.

She told MPs that public spending has risen considerably over the past 12 years, from £700bn in 2010 to £1 trillion now, and said this will continue. However, this is a nominal increase rather than a real-terms rise.

Truss’s spokesperson later added: “The prime minister was clear that government spending will continue to rise but beyond that it really is for the chancellor to come forward with anything on spending which he will do on the 31 [October].”
Related

12 Oct

Truss insists she won't cut public spending to pay for mini-budget
by Eleanor Langford

Kwasi Kwarteng has moved his medium-term fiscal plan up to the end of this month, from November, in a bid to quell market turmoil.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies has estimated that the government will need to make £60bn worth of spending cuts in order to pay for the government’s economic plan.

Truss may have to balance out the cost of helping households and businesses with energy bills with department spending cuts, according to reports. But the PM’s spokesperson refused to answer whether this was being considered.

Meanwhile, Treasury minister Chris Philip told the Commons yesterday that departments will still get real-terms increases in their budgets over the next few years.

He said: “I would point out to the house that [the 2021 Spending Review] spending limits do see real-terms increases over the three years. But we are going to be sticking with iron discipline to those spending limits, and not increasing them. And we will also show spending restraint in the years ahead. But showing spending restraint is different to real-terms cuts.”

“And we will also show spending restraint in the years ahead. But showing spending restraint is different to real-terms cuts,” he added.

In the SR21, the government said real-terms spending would increase for departments by 3.3% per year on average from 2021-22 to 2024-25.

However, soaring inflation has wiped out much of this estimated uplift, which was based on inflation averaging 2.3% over this parliament.

Meanwhile, Truss has reportedly been told by senior civil servants that she needs to do make more U-turns on last month’s so-called mini-budget, including raising corporation tax to restore market confidence.

Officials have warned the PM that her tax-tumbling budget is “no longer credible” without risking a financial crisis, according to The Times.

This morning, foreign secretary James Cleverly refused to rule out further U-turns to the plan and the government is under growing pressure to reverse some of its budget proposals.

The Chancellor must do the honourable thing and resign
Mark Fox
October 13, 2022

Andrew Parsons / No 10 Downing Street

Politics, it is often said, is a cruel old business. You work hard for years to climb up Disraeli’s greasy pole. You toil away – voting for things you don’t agree with, supporting policies you think are wrong, being friendly to colleagues you can’t stand, being lampooned by journalists you feel “don’t get it”, harried by constituents whose votes you need but whose presence you secretly resent – in the hope that one day you too will reach the top and that a nation, relieved that you are now in charge, will gratefully and wholeheartedly support you. Most of all, a party that has managed to lose three consecutive leaders and Prime Ministers will now settle down and give you the support they withdrew from your predecessors. You might also be forgiven for thinking that, given the fact that your immediate predecessor left behind a government that was, shall we say, enveloped by an inverted pyramid of piffle and that the country’s longest and most glorious reigning Monarch unexpectedly died on virtually your first day in office, said party, press and public might be inclined to cut you a bit of slack while you moved your stuff into No 10 and got your feet under the table. These thoughts, understandably, might be crossing the Prime Minister’s mind as she sits in the Cabinet Room pondering the future of her administration. This is not, of course, how politics works.

For a variety of reasons and causes, the substance of which we need not ponder on here, the Prime Minister and her Chancellor have lost the confidence of the financial markets and increasingly the Parliamentary Conservative Party. Whether this is fair or not, right or wrong is not the point. The fact that these are the realities of the situation in which the government now finds itself are beyond dispute. Time is not on the Prime Minister’s side. The Chancellor resolutely clings to saying he will deliver his next financial statement at the end of October. This is itself an earlier date than the one he originally set out, but is in reality too far off to be sensible in the current set of circumstances.

The Chancellor should clearly resign. He should not force the Prime Minister to sack him. He commands no confidence in the City and little at Westminster. The fairness or otherwise of this position is not the point. It is what it is. By resigning the Chancellor makes it much easier for the Prime Minister to execute the changes she needs to deliver to restore financial equilibrium. If he does do the honourable thing and he also can have some hope that, if he wants it, his political career can be resurrected in a lower level Cabinet job in the future. If he forces the Prime Minister to sack him then he makes life much harder for the Prime Minister and will burn up much residual personal goodwill from colleagues who will be personally sympathetic to his plight even if they are politically furious with him.

In no other walk of life is changing your mind seen as a weakness. We all make mistakes and we all change decisions or courses of direction. Only in politics is “u-turning” seen as weakness. Only in politics is admitting a mistake and putting it right seen as a weak thing to do, but there it is. That’s just how it is. So if the Prime Minister is to preside over a change in tack then she needs to do it with brillo, with elan, with style, and with dynamism. If policy changes are afoot then the Prime Minister needs to deliver them with a smile and sparkle. Her Cabinet, every single one of them, needs to get behind her and pull in the same direction. The government as a whole, every single member of it, needs to pull their weight and go out and back the PM and the new plan.

‘Morally corrupt and intellectually vapid’: James O’Brien delivers vicious blows in Jacob Rees-Mogg's direction

13 October 2022, 

By Phoebe Dampare-Osei

James O’Brien did not hold back in his brutal monologue on the current state of the Conservative Party, highlighting Jacob Rees-Mogg’s recent comments on the mini-budget.

James O’Brien had some sharp words for Business Secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg in a vicious takedown today.

“You want to pick a low point?” James asked, “Probably Jacob Rees-Mogg yesterday, trying to argue that the reaction to the mini budget had nothing to do with the mini budget.

“I know we are fairly tireless chroniclers of Jacob Rees-Mogg’s moral corruption and intellectual vapidity but that was a true milestone in his appalling contributions to public discourse in this country - trying to argue that the response to the mini budget had nothing to do with the mini-budget.”

In a further blow, James added: “It’s like trying to argue that the bruising around your eye has nothing to do with the punch in the face you received yesterday, but hey-ho, Jacob’s gonna Jacob."

This comes after the fallout from the Chancellor’s mini-budget which saw the pound plummet to an all-time low against the dollar, a rare statement of condemnation from the IMF over the 45p tax rate cut, and a subsequent U-turn on the policy while the Conservative Party Conference was still in motion.

The Business Secretary previously defended Kwasi Kwarteng, telling Jon Sopel and Emily Maitlis on the News Agents podcast that he is “a very brilliant man…who has shown wisdom and flexibility in realising that something was becoming a distortion that wasn’t of fundamental importance”, referring to the government’s climbdown on the the policy.

Comparing the nation's first and current female Prime Ministers, James added:

“Margaret Thatcher at the time of the poll tax was high on years of electoral success. She was almost unlatched from reality, unlatched from political reality, by the insulation that electoral success gave her.

“Quite how Liz Truss could have ended up so low so fast is still actually baffling me.”

James also noted that some of the economic problems the UK is experiencing “would still be here whoever was in Downing Street” but that “they are bigger than they would have been without Kwasi Kwarteng’s diabolical intervention and the response of the markets”.

Coral slashes on odds of Boris comeback

The Hound
October 13, 2022

©UK Parliament/Jessica Taylor

Well, what a turn up for the books: Coral has just slashed its odds in half to 8-1 (from 16-1) on Boris Johnson making a return to Number 10 to replace Liz Truss as prime minister.

After yesterday’s dire PMQs performance by Truss and her apparently dreadful outing at the 1922 committee, it’s perhaps no surprise that the bookmaker has slashed its odds. Tory MPs are deeply divided over whether she should stay or she should go.

Indeed, some of the Tory MPs most aghast at what has happened to the economy since Truss took over reckon that another regicide might be too much even for the most ruthless among them. Indeed, one MP told the New Statesman that the PM has a “few months or a year,” which, it must be said, is a fairly broad prediction.

Her closest allies agree. “Changing the leadership would be a disastrously bad idea,” foreign secretary and Truss faithful James Cleverly said this morning.

According to Politico, the consensus is that Truss will not face a challenge before Christmas – so she she can begin planning her Downing Street Christmas decorations after all. For one thing, Truss is protected from a leadership challenge for 12 months from her appointment as PM. Well, technically protected.

If, however, the party turns against her overwhelmingly, the rules will mean little. The men in white coats hiding their daggers visiting Truss at No 10 is the more likely approach, suggesting that she steps down for the sake of party – and country- unity. Without the option of a leadership election, those who wish to oust Truss must find a candidate that can unify the poles of the party. Paul Goodman, editor of ConservativeHome has billed the two closest runners in the leadership contest as the most likely replacements. One idea doing the rounds is that Penny Mordaunt and Rishi Sunak, who, after all, between them got pretty much two-thirds of the votes of MPs, come to some kind of arrangement and essentially take over,” Goodman said.

Ben Wallace, the defence secretary, is another name being mentioned. Wallace topped many of the Tory party members polls but decided against standing. Who knows, he may be persuaded should there be a vacancy. And then, course, there is the return of Boris. Time to place your bets.

ROFLMAO NEEDS BENNY HILL THEME

King Charles III mutters ‘dear oh dear’ as he holds audience with Liz Truss

As the King greeted Ms Truss, he said: 'Back again? Dear oh dear'

Aden-Jay Wood

DIGITAL PRODUCER
PUBLISHED Thursday 13 October 2022 - 

King Charles III has been heard muttering “dear oh dear” during an audience with Prime Minister Liz Truss at Buckingham Palace.

Charles met Liz Truss on Wednesday evening, with the pair pictured shaking hands.

Footage of the Buckingham Palace meeting saw Ms Truss curtsy and say: “Your Majesty.”

Charles, smiling, replied: “Back again? Dear oh dear.”

King Charles III and Liz Truss Kirsty O'Connor

Prime Minister Liz Truss departs 10 Downing Street Stefan Rousseau

Ms Truss was heard to say: “It’s a great pleasure.”

It came after Ms Truss faced Prime Minister’s Questions in Parliament, where she insisted she will not cut spending to balance the books as economists and the financial markets continued to question her plans.

Ms Truss told MPs she is “absolutely” not planning public spending reductions, but insisted taxpayers’ money will be used well.

Speaking during PMQs on Wednesday, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer asked the PM: "This morning, the Business secretary toured the TV studios arguing that the turmoil in the markets has nothing to do with her budget, does the Prime Minister agree with him?"

Before Ms Truss responded by saying: "What we have done, we have taken decisive action to make sure people are not facing energy bills of £6,000 for two years and I think we remember the opposition is only talking about six months.

"We’ve also taken decisive action to make sure we are not facing the highest taxes for 70 years in the face of a global economic slowdown.

"What we are making sure is that we protect our economy at this very difficult time internationally.

"And as a result of our action we will see higher growth and lower inflation."

To which the Labour leader hit back, saying: "Avoiding the question, ducking responsibility, lost in denial, no wonder investors have no confidence in her Government."

Separately, on Wednesday afternoon the King also met the King and Queen of Malaysia, known as the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and the Raja Permaisuri Agong.

15 of the best tweets about Kings Charles's reaction to Liz Truss

Sinead Butler
THE INDEPENDENT

King Charles III murmured "dear, oh dear" as he welcomed Liz Truss to a meeting - and managed to relatably sum up everyone's feelings towards the prime minister (at least the internet thinks so).

The two met at Buckingham Palace on Wednesday night (October 12) for their weekly audience where the new King was filmed greeting Truss as she was escorted to the King's equerry by two servants.

“Prime minister, Your Majesty," the equerry announced to the monarch.

Truss then stepped forward to greet His Majesty with a handshake and a bow.

“So you’ve come back again?” King Charles said to Truss, to which she replied: "Well, it's a great pleasure."

"Dear, oh dear. Anyway…", the sovereign replied.

Though it remains unclear what his remark is in reference to, people online were thoroughly amused by King Charles appearing unimpressed.

The clip was compared to something straight out of The Office.

Their weekly audience comes after King Charles announced he would not attend the Cop27 climate change summit in Egypt next month following reports this was Truss's advice.

Meanwhile, Truss has had a disastrous start as prime minister with the controversial mini-Budget causing the pound to tank which in the end caused her to U-turn on plans to cut to the 45 per cent top rate of income tax after people questioned how long she would remain as PM.

 

or Blackadder III...

or a Victoria Wood sketch.

There's been a request for the scene to be included in Netflix drama The Crown.

While some imagined how the rest of the meeting went...

 

King Charles's comment can relate to our food delivery habits.

There were jokes that King Charles's comment means he is part of Truss's so-called "anti-growth coalition."

 

Here are some more of the best reaction tweets from this situation:

NASA and SpaceX 'wave off' Crew-4 space station undocking

The SpaceX Dragon capsule Endeavour can be seen approaching the top of the International Space Station. The SpaceX Crew-4 mission's return home from the ISS was "waved off" Thursday due to weather concerns at the splashdown site, according to NASA and SPaceX. Photo courtesy of NASA

Oct. 13 (UPI) -- NASA and Space X mission controllers Thursday waved off the International Space Station Crew-4 undocking for a return to Earth in Dragon Freedom due to weather concerns at the Florida splashdown site.

Possible Friday docking times are "currently being assessed" according to an ISS tweet.


"NASA and SpaceX are standing down from the Oct. 13 departure opportunity for the agency's Crew-4 mission from the International Space Station due to increased winds forecast in the splashdown area," a NASA blog statement said.

Crew-4 had been expected to depart the station around 10 a.m. Thursday for a planned splashdown before 6 p.m. on the Florida coast.

According to the NASA blog statement, mission crews will meet later in the day to "determine the next target for Crew-4's undocking to begin their return trip to Earth completing a nearly six-month science mission in orbit. The next available undocking opportunity is no earlier than 11:35 a.m. EDT Friday, Oct. 14."



When Crew-4 is able to undock for the trip back to Earth, SpaceX, NASA Television, and the NASA app will provide a livestream webcast from more than 200 miles above the Earth.

The ship will undock from the station and perform several maneuvers to prepare for re-entry, including jettisoning some equipment.

According to NASA, Crew-4's Dragon undocking depends on a variety of factors, including spacecraft readiness, weather, sea states and other factors.

Aboard the returning ship are Crew-4 astronauts Kjell Lindgren, Bob Hines, Jessica Watkins, and Samantha Cristoforetti, who blasted off from Kennedy Space Center aboard a Falcon 9 rocket on April 27.

RELATED SpaceX's Crew-5 mission docks with space station

Taking their place is Crew-5 -- including mission commander Nicole Mann; NASA astronaut Josh Cassada, the pilot, as well as Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Koichi Wakata and Roscosmos cosmonaut Anna Kikina -- which docked with the orbiting facility a week ago and now will spend the next six months in orbit.

The mission is the first for Mann, who also becomes the first Indigenous woman in space. It's also the first spaceflight for Cassada and Kikina, while it is the fifth for Wakata. On board, the astronauts will conduct hundreds of scientific experiments and technology demonstrations, including studies on printing organs in space.