Rivian Lays Off Hundreds Of Workers Days After New Vehicle Deliveries Begin

Rivian said it’s laying disconnected hundreds of employees, aliases little than 2% of its workforce, arsenic portion of restructuring efforts aimed astatine making nan institution profitable for nan first time.

The layoffs travel 1 week aft nan Irvine-based electrical conveyance maker began deliveries of its highly anticipated R2 SUV.

The institution is hoping that the R2, which is presently only disposable arsenic a capacity type for $57,990, could pull much customers pinch its little value tag.

But manufacture analysts said nan capacity R2 is still not affordable for galore Americans, and investors reacted pinch disappointment to nan first deliveries past Tuesday, pinch shares falling 7% that day.

The institution said a modular type of nan R2 starting astatine $44,990 will go disposable adjacent year.

The layoffs took effect connected Monday and affected Rivian’s work and customer statement employees, including income and trading teams. Rivian employed 15,232 group arsenic of December.

“We precocious restructured a fistful of teams wrong Rivian arsenic we activity to profitably standard our ‌business,” a ⁠company spokesperson said.

The laid disconnected labor person been provided pinch severance packages and are encouraged to use for different unfastened roles pinch Rivian, nan institution said.

Rivian whitethorn beryllium trying to scope profitability by redeeming money connected labor, said Ivan Drury, head of insights astatine Edmunds.

“You person to wonderment to what grade they do scheme connected replacing those group pinch immoderate level of AI and automation,” he said.

Rivian, which is pouring money into autonomous conveyance efforts including a robotaxi business pinch Uber, has struggled to move a profit pinch its luxury EVs.

The layoffs are apt not straight tied to caller reception of nan R2, car expert Brian Moody said.

“I deliberation that it’s declining interest successful caller electrical cars, and possibly declining liking successful costly things,” he said. “We tin surmise that [layoff] process began agelong earlier nan R2 launch.”

The institution mislaid $3.6 cardinal past twelvemonth and precocious said it is nary longer expecting to meet its 2027 adjusted halfway profit target.

There has been a broad cooling of nan EV market. Major automakers including Honda and Ford person trim backmost their EV options arsenic excitement for nan vehicles has fallen nether nan Trump administration. A $7,500 EV taxation in installments for caller vehicles expired successful September.

Rivian trim 4.5% of its workforce successful October, aliases much than 600 jobs, pursuing nan expiration of nan credit. The institution besides laid disconnected astir 200 labor successful September.

In a caller turnaround, Rivian amazed nan marketplace pinch beardown net results successful February, reporting gross profits for 2025 of $144 cardinal compared pinch a nett nonaccomplishment successful 2024 of $1.2 billion. Gross profit is gross without subtracting nan costs of accumulation expenses.

In its net release, Rivian credited nan plaything to “strong package and services performance, higher mean trading prices, and reductions successful costs per vehicle.”

“The institution has ne'er posted a afloat year’s worthy of profit, and this is nan 1 lever they tin propulsion to rightsize things,” Drury said.