Rivian announced another round of layoffs Wednesday, just two months after cutting 10% of its salaried employees.
In an email to Automotive Dive, a Rivian spokesperson said the latest layoffs, which affect about 1% of the electric vehicle maker’s workforce, are part of a continued effort to right-size the business and ensure alignment with the company’s priorities.
“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 spokesperson said.
Rivian had 16,790 employees as of Dec. 31, according to its annual report.
Rivian joins other EV manufacturers in announcing layoffs this week to cut costs. Tesla announced it would cut 10% of its global workforce on Monday, and on Thursday, electric bus and bus maker Lion Electric said it would lay off 120 Canada-based employees. Each of the automakers said the moves were made to protect their margins.
Like the others, Rivian has been taking several steps to reduce its burn rate as EV demand wanes. The automaker kept its production pace in Q1 ahead of a planned plant shutdown. The pause will allow the company to retool its facility, increasing production capacity and cost savings.
Rivian lost about $43,000 per vehicle in 2023 and reported a net loss of $5.4 billion last year, according to its annual report.
