Rivian to lay off over 800 employees as inflation and high costs bite

Rivian Automotive, the American electric vehicle manufacturer founded in 2009, is set to terminate 840 employees, which are said to be equivalent to six percent of the company’s workforce. The company’s chief said the move is being carried out as it adjusts to the “world that has dramatically changed."

According to CNN Business, Rivian has around 14,000 workers and its chief executive officer, RJ Scaringe, sent an email to some employees telling them that they would be removed from the company. More than 800 staff received the devastating email where the CEO cited inflation, increased prices of commodities, and soaring interest rates as some of the factors that led to the decision.

"We are financially well positioned and our mission is more important than ever, but to fully realize our potential, our strategy must support our sustainable growth as we ramp towards profitability," part of the email letter that Scaringe sent to staff reads, as he announced the job cuts.

He added, “We need to be able to continue to grow and scale without additional financing in this macro environment and to achieve this, we have simplified our product roadmap and focused on where it is most impactful to deploy capital.”

In any case, Rivian faced many struggles as it tries to scale up its manufacturing works. Scaringe said that part of its problems was related to the supply chain and the tight labor market. Currently, the electric vehicle maker is carrying out productions in the former Mitsubishi plant located in Normal, Illinois.

Rivian is now planning to set up its second production factory, which will be built near Atlanta. This facility in Georgia s expected to generate new jobs, and the EV company may hire as many as 7,500 new workers.

Meanwhile, Bloomberg reported that Rivian’s decision to lay off workers comes about two weeks after the publication first reported the company’s plans to reduce its workforce. This is a major setback after it expanded its business to scale up its production.

Rivian mostly makes electric SUVs and pickups, but it also makes delivery vans. It was one of the biggest initial public offerings in the U.S., which Amazon is supporting. When it went public, it was predicted to become the leading competitor of Tesla Inc.