EV manufacturer Rivian Automotive Inc RIVN has reportedly laid off around 20 employees, including key members from its long-range battery cell development team.
What Happened: Among those terminated is Victor Prajapati, a former senior manager at Tesla Inc. TSLA, who led Rivian’s in-house battery cell development, as reported by The Information, citing sources familiar with the matter.
The layoffs occurred on Wednesday and predominantly impacted the company’s research and development team dedicated to future battery technologies.
Rivian currently sources its battery cells from South Korea’s Samsung SDI and assembles them into packs at its facility in Normal, Illinois.
A Rivian spokesperson confirmed the layoff to Benzinga and said that the layoff affected less than 8% of the company's whole battery team. However, the spokesperson declined to comment on Prajapati’s layoff in particular or give the absolute number of workers laid off.
"While we place a very high value on the cell engineering competence we have built at Rivian, we're focusing the team on R2 and its defined programs," the spokesperson said while adding that the company will pause new cell development in-house.
Instead, Rivian will focus on growing the cell chemistry team, which will work closely with cell manufacturing partners, and on unveiling its R2 platform, according to the spokesperson.
Financial Performance: Rivian reported third-quarter revenue of $1.337 billion and a quarterly loss of $1.19 per share, surpassing analyst estimates of $1.32 per share. The company also raised its full-year production guidance to 54,000 vehicles, an increase of 2,000 units from its previous forecast.
During the third-quarter earnings call, CFO Claire McDonough announced that R2 platform production would commence in 2026, with product unveilings expected in early 2024. The R2, while retaining the brand’s essence, will be more compact and available at a lower price point.
"There's an extreme vacuum of choice we feel in the sort of $45,000 to $50,000 price range for midsize SUVs," Rivian CEO R.J. Scaringe said, highlighting the limited options and Tesla’s dominance in the EV market within that price range.
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