Rivian cuts dozens in the manufacturing team before the launch of R2

Rivian dismissed around 140 employees, or about 1% of its workforce, while it is preparing to launch its more affordable R2 SUV in 2026, Techcrunch learned.

The cuts were mainly made to the Rivian manufacturing team and have been continuing since Wednesday, according to several former employees who obtained anonymity to talk about layoffs. Some employees have been informed that the company eliminated roles that created “process ineffectiveness”.

Rivian confirmed the cuts in an email at Techcrunch. “We have made the decision difficult to reduce a small number of our employee employees employees as part of a continuous effort to improve the operational efficiency of R2,” wrote a spokesperson. The company said that the employees concerned were encouraged to apply for other positions open within the company.

Rivian began the year with more than 14,800 workers in North America and Europe, according to its annual file with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company has made several cuts in recent years, in particular A reduction of 10% at the beginning of 2024And Another layoff of around 1% of the staff in April 2024.