EV maker Rivian to lay off 10% of staff to cut costs

In a recent announcement, electric vehicle (EV) maker Rivian has revealed its plans to lay off approximately 10 percent of its salaried workforce as part of cost-cutting measures. The decision comes after the company reported a loss of $5.4 billion for the year 2023, despite producing and delivering a significant number of EVs. The job cuts were announced during the company’s 2023 fourth-quarter earnings call.

The Q4 financial report indicated that Rivian produced and delivered twice as many EVs in 2023 as compared to the previous year, yet it still incurred a substantial loss. Looking ahead to 2024, the company anticipates producing approximately the same number of vehicles as it did in 2023, which is around 57,000. Founder and CEO, RJ Scaringe, expressed the company’s focus on driving cost efficiency, achieving positive margins, and building its go-to-market function to support long-term growth.

Rivian’s total revenue for Q4 2023 was $1,315 million, driven by the delivery of 13,972 vehicles, and for the entire year, total revenue amounted to $4,434 million, supported by 50,122 total vehicle deliveries. The company reported a net loss of $1.5 billion in Q4, showing a slight improvement over the previous year’s loss of $1.72 billion in the same quarter.

This marks Rivian’s third round of layoffs, following reductions of 6 percent in staff in July 2022 and an additional 6 percent in February 2023. The decision to lay off employees comes as the company seeks to streamline operations and improve financial performance amid challenging market conditions.

The news of layoffs at Rivian reflects the ongoing challenges faced by EV companies in a rapidly evolving industry. Despite the setbacks, the company remains focused on its long-term growth strategy and is working towards achieving profitability in the future.