Overview

• Rivian said the reductions affect roughly 1.5% of its nearly 15,000 employees, primarily within the commercial organization, and those workers are eligible for rehire.
• The company frames the move as an efficiency step tied to the R2 launch, with the Normal, Illinois, plant scheduled for a three-week shutdown this month to install tooling.
• Construction is restarting on Rivian’s $5 billion Georgia factory, targeted to start production in 2028 at about 200,000 units annually, with a new East Coast headquarters opening in Atlanta later this year.
• The layoffs arrive as federal tax credits of up to $7,500 for new EVs and up to $4,000 for used EVs are set to end on Sept. 30, a shift automakers expect will soften demand.
• Rivian also faces cost pressures from tariffs, which its CFO said add a couple of thousand dollars per vehicle for the rest of 2025, against a backdrop of significant year-to-date losses.