Rivian Automotive Reduces Commercial Employees

Rivian Automotive Inc. is laying off employees from its commercial division ahead of the new R2 vehicle launch next year, a Rivian spokesperson confirmed. 

“We have made some recent changes to the commercial team as part of an ongoing effort to improve operational efficiency for R2,” the spokesperson said. 

The recent cuts to its sales and service team, across several locations, make up less than 1.5% of its total workforce. Rivian has at least 62 service centers across the U.S. and operates over 20 retail locations known as Spaces as of March.  

The company said affected employees are eligible for rehire and able to apply for other open positions within Rivian. 

The EV automaker has an estimated 1,800 employees in Orange County and counted 14,861 employees in the U.S. and Europe as of last December.  

Rivian (Nasdaq: RIVN) is Orange County’s largest automaker by local headcount. The Irvine-based company ended Friday’s trading session up 3.5% to $14.21 per share with a market cap of $17 billion.