Rivian Chief Executive RJ Scaringe announced in a memo to employees plans to trim another 6% of its workforce.  -  IMAGE: Rivian

Rivian Chief Executive RJ Scaringe announced in a memo to employees plans to trim another 6% of its workforce.

IMAGE: Rivian

Rivian Automotive has announced plans for another round of layoffs as the electric vehicle (EV) startup attempts to capture some cash as it confronts challenges scaling its business.

Chief Executive RJ Scaringe announced in a memo to employees plans to trim another 6% of its workforce, after cutting 6% of the workforce last summer in response to inflationary pressures and an uncertain economic climate.

Scaringe reported the company needed to focus on its path to profitability and product of its first models and developing future offerings to expand is lineup, reported The Wall Street Journal.  He did not specify when the layoffs would occur, only that affected employees would receive an email from their supervisors.  The company plans to hold a meeting on Friday to discuss the reductions with employees, he said.

Currently Rivian reportedly has 14,000 employers, according to the WSJ report.

Rivian has encountered supply chain snags and other difficulties in ramping up its output, causing the startup to miss year-end production targets for 2022. These setbacks have caused share values to plummet 73% in the last year. Stock values inched up 1.6% Wednesday following the layoff announcement.

The layoffs follow other moves to preserve cash, including pushing back the launch of the R2 line, halting the hire of nonfactory workers, and increasing prices on its EVs.

The company isn’t cutting back everywhere, however. Rivian has committed to building a $5 billion factory in Georgia, which should open in 2026.

 

Originally posted on Auto Dealer Today

About the author
0 Comments