Key insights
- Rivian is laying off hundreds of workers, less than 2% of its workforce, to reduce losses as it launches its new R2 SUV. This move signals continued challenges in the EV market, with the company aiming for profitability with the R2 after significant losses last year. The layoffs, coupled with a tougher regulatory environment and reduced incentives, suggest potential headwinds for the broader EV sector and its suppliers.
In this article
Rivian said Tuesday it was laying off hundreds of workers, or less than 2% of its workforce, as the electric vehicle maker aims to narrow losses.
The layoffs affect some teams in the service and customer segments, according to a spokesperson. The company had 15,232 employees across North America and Europe at the end of last year.
“We recently restructured a handful of teams within Rivian as we work to profitably scale our business,” the company said in a statement.
The layoffs come a week after the automaker officially launched deliveries of its key new vehicle, the R2 SUV. The R2 is meant to transform Rivian from a niche EV manufacturer that sells luxury vehicles into a more mainstream brand like U.S. EV leader Tesla. The layoffs were first reported by The Wall Street Journal.
Rivian has said it hopes to achieve profitability with the R2. It has never turned an annual profit.
The EV maker lost $3.6 billion last year, while only delivering 42,247 vehicles, according to company filings. Its automotive segment lost about $6,000 per vehicle it delivered during the first quarter of this year.
Rivian and other EV manufacturers are increasingly facing a more challenging market than they did in recent years amid changing regulations under the Trump administration, including the elimination of a $7,500 federal incentive for purchasing an EV.
Rivian laid off more than 600 workers in October, or roughly 4.5% of its workforce. Those cuts largely involved restructurings of its marketing, vehicle operations, and sales/delivery and mobile operations teams.