Rivian Lays Off Workers During R2 Release

Irvine-based Rivian Automotive Inc. laid off less than 2% of its workforce on Tuesday, impacting employees in its service and customer organization such as sales and marketing, the company said.

“We recently restructured a handful of teams within Rivian as we work to profitably scale our business,” a Rivian spokesperson said.  

Shares were down 5.2% to $15.81 apiece during midday trading with a market cap of $21 billion (Nasdaq: RIVN).    

The EV maker aims to scale more efficiently towards profitability with the layoffs, even on the heels of launching its newest R2 model.  

Rivian also announced a partnership with ChargeScape, a smart-charging platform designed to lower electricity costs and reduce strain on the power grid. Under the deal, Rivian’s high-capacity EV batteries can also serve as flexible energy resources for local grids during periods of peak demand.

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Updated on June 16