Rivian is cutting about 1.5% of its global workforce as the electric vehicle maker prepares its plant in Normal for production of its new lower-cost sport utility vehicle.
The automaker had about 15,000 employees globally at the end of the year. It’s unclear how many of the job cuts could be in Normal.
“We have made some recent changes to the commercial team as part of an ongoing effort to improve operational efficiency for R2,” according to a statement from a Rivian spokesperson.
Rivian says affected employees will be encouraged to apply for other open positions at the company.
Rivian plans to begin production of its new R2 model next year, a more affordable version of the R1S SUV.
