Rivian lays off 10% of workforce as EV pricing pressure mounts

Rivian is laying off 10% of its salaried workforce in a bid to cut costs in an increasingly tough market for electric vehicles, putting even more pressure on future, more affordable EV called the R2.

The company more than doubled the number of EVs it built and shipped in 2023 compared to 2022. But Rivian still lost more than $5.4 billion for the year, and announced Wednesday that it only expects to build the same amount — 57,000 — electric vehicles across all of 2024.

As a result, Rivian says it expects to lose around $2.7 billion in 2024, and has decided to “continue its company-wide cost transformation program.” That includes changes to the design and engineering of its vehicles, making manufacturing more efficient, and laying off more employees. The company previously cut 6% of its staff in February 2023 as it sought to reach profitability.

“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,” founder and CEO RJ Scaringe said in an email to the company. “We must strategically prioritize our growth areas of the business, including the launch of Peregrine and R2 as well as investing in our go-to-market capabilities.”

This story is developing. Check back for updates.