Electric vehicle maker Rivian announced Wednesday it is laying off 10% of its salaried workforce to cut costs after suffering a quarterly loss. The Amazon-backed company reported a loss of $1.5 billion in the fourth quarter of 2023 and said it expects to produce 57,000 electric vehicles in 2024, the same number as last year.
“Our business faces a challenging macroeconomic environment, including historically high interest rates and geopolitical uncertainty. We must make purposeful changes now to ensure a promising future,” Rivian’s founder and CEO told employees. I wrote it by email. CNN It has been reported. “We must strategically prioritize growth areas of our business, including the launch of Peregrine and R2, as well as investments in our go-to-market capabilities.”
As part of a cost-cutting plan, Rivian plans to close its Illinois plant mid-year and upgrade production lines to increase production rates by 30%. Rivian plans to unveil the compact SUV R2 next year. Deliveries of the vehicle won’t begin until 2026, but it will be available on March 7 for a price range of $40,000 to $60,000.