IRVINE, California — Electric-vehicle manufacturer Rivian Automotive has cut hundreds of jobs, representing less than 2% of its workforce, as the company seeks to improve efficiency and move closer to profitability while ramping up production of its new R2 sport utility vehicle, the company said this week.
The layoffs, announced on Tuesday, affect employees in Rivian’s service and customer organization, including sales and marketing teams, according to a company spokesperson. The company said the restructuring is part of a broader effort to streamline operations as it expands production and deliveries of lower-cost electric vehicles.
“We recently restructured a handful of teams within Rivian as we work to profitably scale our business,” a company spokesperson said in a statement provided to Reuters. The company added that affected employees would be eligible to apply for other open positions within Rivian.
Rivian employed about 15,200 people at the end of 2025, according to company disclosures. While the automaker did not provide a precise number of layoffs, reports from Reuters and The Wall Street Journal indicated that several hundred workers were affected.
The workforce reduction comes shortly after Rivian began deliveries of its R2 SUV, a smaller and more affordable vehicle that the company views as central to broadening its customer base beyond the premium segment served by its R1T pickup and R1S SUV. Production of the R2 began earlier this year, with customer deliveries now underway.
Rivian has faced continuing financial pressure despite strong investor backing and growing vehicle production. The company has yet to report an annual profit and earlier this year said it no longer expected to achieve its previously announced 2027 adjusted earnings target because of increased spending on research and development, particularly in autonomous driving technology.
The latest cuts follow earlier workforce reductions. In October 2025, Rivian eliminated more than 600 positions, or about 4.5% of its workforce, citing weaker demand after the expiration of key U.S. electric-vehicle tax incentives.
Industry analysts have closely monitored Rivian’s efforts to balance growth and cost controls as competition intensifies across the electric-vehicle market. Rivian has maintained that expanding production of the R2 and improving operating efficiency are essential components of its long-term strategy.
As of Friday, the company had not announced additional layoffs. Rivian said it remains focused on increasing R2 production, supporting vehicle deliveries and pursuing what it described as “profitable growth” in the years ahead.
