Rivian founder and CEO RJ Scaringe has confirmed layoffs are being considered as the electric automaker looks to “grow sustainably” in the face of a changing economic landscape.
There are still no indications of whether or how the layoffs would impact Rivian’s Normal manufacturing plant, which has about 6,000 employees. Bloomberg reported Monday that the cuts would be focused on “non-manufacturing” jobs – possibly a good sign for Bloomington-Normal. And most of Rivian’s 14,000 employees work elsewhere – in offices in California, Michigan, Arizona, Vancouver, and overseas.
In a letter to Rivian employees Monday night, Scaringe said the Bloomberg report was “not how we intended for you to hear about this.” But he confirmed that cost-cutting is underway.
“Our team is the core of Rivian and we are working to be as thoughtful as possible as we consider any reductions,” Scaringe said in the letter shared by Rivian. “We will always be focused on growth. However, Rivian is not immune to the current economic circumstances and we need to make sure we can grow sustainably. Every decision about our team is being assessed through the lens of our strategic priorities, not as a mechanism to simply reduce costs. Our team will continue to grow in support of our production ramp and product roadmap.”
Production began at the Rivian plant in Normal in September. It’s off to a slower-than-expected start, in part due to global supply-chain problems that have disrupted many automakers. A growing number of economists worry that inflation has now climbed so high that the Fed will need to crack down hard to get prices under control, which could tip the economy into recession. In recent weeks that fear has led to considerable volatility in the stock market.
Scaringe said some cost-cutting measures were already happening. The company has halted certain non-manufacturing hiring and adopted “major” reductions in materials spending and operating expenses.
“We are financially well-positioned and our outlook remains strong, but to fully realize our objectives it is critical that our strategy supports our sustainable growth as we ramp towards profitability,” Scaringe said.
Rivian has been on a hiring spree in Normal since late 2020 and has quickly become McLean County's second-largest employer.
Read a full copy of the letter below:
Hi Team,
I’d like to address the news reports that are circulating about restructuring at Rivian. The reports speculate broadly on many intricate internal discussions about our business so I wanted to offer more clarity.
As discussed in recent all hands meetings, we’ve been working to focus our business in order to stay ahead of the changing economic landscape. We are financially well positioned and our outlook remains strong, but to fully realize our objectives it is critical that our strategy supports our sustainable growth as we ramp towards profitability. Earlier this year, we outlined our core strategic priorities for the next 18 months:
1) Ramping and enhancing R1 and EDV
2) Accelerating R2 development
3) Continuing to ramp our go-to-market capabilities, including our charging and service infrastructure
4) Optimizing costs and operating expenses across the business
As a result, we’ve implemented changes across Rivian, including prioritizing certain programs (and stopping some), halting certain non-manufacturing hiring and adopting major cost down efforts to reduce material spend and operating expenses. We also began the process of aligning the organization as a whole to ensure we are as focused, nimble and efficient as possible to achieve our priorities and objectives.
The hardest part of this process has been working through our organization to assess the size and structure of our teams and how well this aligns with our strategic plan. Our team is the core of Rivian and we are working to be as thoughtful as possible as we consider any reductions. We will always be focused on growth, however, Rivian is not immune to the current economic circumstances and we need to make sure we can grow sustainably. Every decision about our team is being assessed through the lens of our strategic priorities, not as a mechanism to simply reduce costs. Our team will continue to grow in support of our production ramp and product roadmap.
This is not how we intended for you to hear about this. We had hoped these very sensitive and complex conversations would have stayed within Rivian until we could address them more comprehensively. However, because information is coming out unofficially, I wanted to personally address it.
Thank you everyone.
RJ”
