Rivian cut about 140 jobs, roughly 1% of its workforce. These layoffs target mostly the manufacturing team and began Wednesday, according to insiders. The move is linked to gearing up for the cheaper R2 SUV launch in 2026.
Affected roles were called “process inefficiencies” by some employees. Rivian confirmed the layoffs to TechCrunch.
"We have made the difficult decision to reduce a small number of our salaried manufacturing employees as part of an ongoing effort to improve operational efficiency for R2," a company spokesperson said.
"Affected employees are being encouraged to apply to other open positions inside the company."
Rivian started 2024 with over 14,800 employees in North America and Europe. This cut follows multiple earlier ones, including a 10% reduction earlier this year and another 1% layoff in April 2024.
The company is trimming staff incrementally to tighten operations ahead of the R2 rollout.
