Rivian All-hands Meeting held Friday to discuss company restructuring

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Rivian will organize an all-hands meeting with staff Friday amid fears that about the electric vehicle company is planning to cut hundreds of employees.

This morning, Bloomberg announced that the business that has a plant located in Illinois with plans to construct an additional facility in Georgia is considering a reduction in workforce of about five percent with a specific concentration on jobs that are not manufacturing. The company employs more than 14,000 workers.

Ticker Security Last Change Change %
RIVN RIVIAN AUTOMOTIVE INC. 36.70 -1.39 -3.65%

In a memo to employees on Monday evening, and then reviewed by FOX Business CEO RJ Scaringe claimed that the business has been “financially well positioned” and that its outlook “remains strong.” However, he also noted that Rivian was “not immune to the current economic circumstances” and must act to ensure it’s expanding sustainably.

“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,” he said. “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.”

Although the memo didn’t discuss specifics the memo did mention his belief that Rivian will be “thoughtful as possible” in taking into consideration any reductions in the workforce.

“Every decision about our team is being assessed through the lens of our strategic priorities, not as a mechanism to simply reduce costs,” said the CEO. “Our team will continue to grow in support of our production ramp and product roadmap.”

A Rivian electronic pickup is seen in a parking lot of the Rivian servicing center on May 9, 2022. It is located in South San Francisco, California. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images / Getty Images)

In addition to reducing the operating and cost of operations in the coming one-year period, Rivian plans to focus its efforts on “ramping and enhancing” its R1 vehicles as well as its electric delivery vans. This will help speed up the development of its vehicle R2 as well as increase its “go-to-market capabilities”, including its charging infrastructure and infrastructure for services.

In the first quarter of 2022 Rivian’s net loss increased to $1.59 billion, up from $414 million for the same period one year earlier. The company had reported around $17 billion of liquid and cash at the end of March. Rivian is a company that has had difficulty meeting its production goals and has reduced its production forecast for 2022 earlier in the year to a maximum of 25,000.

The company reported that it was in line to meet the target after delivering 4401 vehicles at its plant situated in Normal, Illinois during the second quarter, and providing cars totaling 4,467 during the same time. The company will announce its complete second-quarter results on August 11.

As of the date of writing, Rivian stock has fallen 70% year-to-date.

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