Electric vehicle manufacturer Rivian is laying off hundreds of employees as the company intensifies its push toward profitability and ramps up production of its highly anticipated R2 sport utility vehicle, a model widely viewed as critical to the automaker's long-term future.
The California-based EV maker confirmed to the Wall Street Journal on Tuesday that it is eliminating less than 2% of its workforce as part of a restructuring effort designed to streamline operations and reduce costs. The company employed 15,232 workers at the end of 2025, meaning the cuts affected several hundred employees across North America and Europe.
"We recently restructured a handful of teams within Rivian as we work to profitably scale our business," a company spokesperson said in a statement. The layoffs primarily impact Rivian's service and customer-facing organizations, including sales and marketing teams. Affected employees will be eligible to apply for other open positions within the company.
The move comes at a pivotal moment for Rivian. Just days ago, the company began customer deliveries, demo drives, and order fulfillment for its new R2 SUV, a smaller and more affordable vehicle that executives hope will dramatically expand the company's customer base. The R2 is expected to compete directly with popular midsize electric crossovers such as the Tesla Model Y and is considered Rivian's most important product launch since its founding.
Unlike Rivian's premium R1T pickup and R1S SUV, which target higher-income buyers, the R2 is aimed at the mass market. Chief Executive Officer RJ Scaringe has repeatedly described the vehicle as a key step toward achieving the scale needed to compete with larger automakers and eventually generate sustainable profits.
Despite building a strong brand among EV enthusiasts, Rivian continues to face significant financial challenges. The company reported a net loss of approximately $3.6 billion in 2025, although that represented an improvement from the $4.7 billion loss recorded in 2024. Vehicle deliveries also declined last year, falling to 42,247 units from 51,579 in 2024.
In the first quarter of 2026, Rivian produced 10,236 vehicles and delivered 10,365. The company maintained its full-year delivery forecast of between 62,000 and 67,000 vehicles, signaling confidence that the R2 launch could help reverse slowing demand trends.
The latest layoffs are not the first workforce reduction undertaken by Rivian. In October 2025, the company cut more than 600 jobs, or roughly 4.5% of its workforce, after demand softened following the expiration of key federal electric vehicle tax incentives. Those cuts affected marketing, sales, vehicle operations, and customer-facing teams as well. Earlier rounds of layoffs also took place in 2024 and 2025 as Rivian sought to conserve cash and improve efficiency.
