Rivian, the electric vehicle (EV) startup, revealed on Wednesday its decision to lay off 10% of its salaried workforce, marking its second round of layoffs within a year. The announcement was made alongside the company’s fourth-quarter and full-year earnings report, reflecting the broader challenges facing the EV industry.
Rivian’s inability to achieve profitability on its vehicles and the competitive pricing pressure from Tesla have contributed to the company’s current position. In response, Rivian has initiated a “company-wide cost-transformation program” to address these challenges.
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R.J. Scaringe, Rivian’s founder and CEO, emphasized the need for strategic changes in light of the challenging economic environment. He stated, “Our business is facing a challenging macroeconomic environment—including historically high interest rates and geopolitical uncertainty—and we need to make purposeful changes now to ensure our promising future.”
The layoffs coincide with a period where several tech companies, such as Google and Amazon, are also implementing workforce reductions. Rivian’s upcoming products, the R2 compact SUV and the next-generation EV architecture known internally as Peregrine, are key elements of the company’s growth strategy.
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Despite the workforce reduction, Rivian remains focused on its growth areas, particularly the launch of the R2 and Peregrine, as well as enhancing its go-to-market capabilities. The company’s earnings report outlined plans to produce 57,000 vehicles in 2024, a figure consistent with its 2023 production numbers.
