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Rivian and Arrival announce business restructuring, Tesla continues layoffs

by Scooter Doll

Inflation and global supply chain constraints continue to take their toll on EV automakers, especially those based in the United States.

Young automakers like Rivian and Arrival have announced plans to restructure their businesses, hinting at potential layoffs.

Meanwhile, EV veteran Tesla has laid off hundreds of employees the past month and continues to do so.

Last we heard, Rivian was reporting an optimistic uptick in EV production for last quarter, assembling a total of 7,969 EVs since the start of production late last year.

At the same time, Rivian reiterated that its goal of producing 25,000 vehicles this year is still achievable.

Despite the need for a significantly larger ramp-up in the second half of 2022, CEO RJ Scaringe relayed that Rivian’s new results show that the company is working through its previous supply chain and production issues.

According to a recent report from Reuters, Scaringe sent an email to employees Monday night, alerting them to plans for a briefing this Friday to discuss potential layoffs. Furthermore, Scaringe shared that Rivian plans to suspend certain internal programs as part of a restructuring of the company.

Since these details remain quite vague, we don’t want to speculate before Friday, but the restructuring could further cut costs and optimize the business as it looks to bolster EV output to swing hard for its 2022 production targets. At the end of Q1, Rivian had over $16 billion cash in hand, so potential layoffs feel like a precautionary move to stay as lean as possible.

Continue reading to learn more about Arrival's "reorganization of its business" and Tesla's plans to continue laying off additional employes.