EV maker Rivian Automotive RIVN is reportedly cutting another 1% of its workforce, just days after larger rival Tesla announced massive layoffs.
What Happened: While Rivian’s previous cut in February impacted product teams and those working on the company’s commercial EVs, the latest round of workforce slashing will most likely impact its support and back-office workers, Bloomberg reported, citing an emailed company statement.
“We continue to work to right-size the business and ensure alignment to our priorities,” Rivian said in a statement to Benzinga. “This was a difficult decision, but a necessary one to support our goal to be gross margin positive by the end of the year.”
The EV startup had 16,790 workers as of Dec. 31, as per the report, which implies the latest round of cuts could amount to at least 150 jobs.
Rivian did not immediately respond to Benzinga’s request for comment.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk responded to the news on X, saying, “Inevitable.” It was unclear if Musk was referring to the ongoing EV demand slowdown or his previous predictions of Rivian gearing up to bankruptcy owing to their high costs.
Why It Matters: The February layoffs were part of the company’s cost-reduction efforts in light of high-interest rates and other economic and geopolitical uncertainties.
For the first quarter, Rivian delivered 13,588 vehicles compared to the 7,946 cars delivered in the corresponding quarter of 2023 and produced 13,980 vehicles. For 2024, the company intends to make 57,000 vehicles, similar to 2023.
Despite the rise in sales, Rivian is yet to break even. The company continues to incur losses on every vehicle made and expects to reach profitability by the fourth quarter of 2024.
Price Action: Rivian shares closed up 0.34% at $8.74 on Wednesday but were down 0.34% in after-hours trading, according to data from Benzinga Pro.
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