US-based electric vehicle manufacturer Rivian said that it was reducing the number of employees by 6% to optimize costs amid increasingly challenging global economic conditions.
In an email to all of its employees, CEO RJ Scaringe said the company is adjusting to “the world has changed dramatically,”
Rivianta total has 14,000 employees. About 840 of the laid-off employees were notified on Wednesday that they would be leaving the company.
Scaringe said that inflationary pressures, rising interest rates and rising commodity prices forced them to make tough decisions to cut their workforce.
In his email, Scaringe said Staff on the manufacturing operations team in Normal, Illinois, would not be affected.
Rivian has so far produced three of its initial products, the R1T pickup, the R1S luxury SUV and an electric delivery van ordered by Amazon which is one of the main investors. Amazon has started deiver packages using Rivian electric vans in several US cities.
The R1T pickup and R1S SUV have been well received by critics, with the truck earning the MotorTrend’s Truck of the Year award.
Rivian electric vehicles are currently manufactured at a production facility in Normal, Illinois, which is a former Mitsubishi.
Rivian is already planning a second factory near Atlanta which is expected to employ as many as 7,500 workers.
