Rivian is cutting hundreds of jobs one week after beginning deliveries of its R2 electric SUV. The company said the reduction affects less than 2% of its workforce and is intended to improve efficiency as it works toward profitable growth.
Rivian employed 15,232 people at the end of 2025, meaning the cuts could affect about 300 positions. The restructuring primarily covers service and customer-facing teams, including sales and marketing.
Rivian Restructures Customer-Facing Teams
“We recently restructured a handful of teams within Rivian as we work to profitably scale our business,” the company said in a statement. Rivian is also allowing affected employees to apply for other available positions within the business.
The layoffs represent at least Rivian’s fourth round of workforce reductions since the beginning of 2024. The company previously cut about 10% of its salaried workforce in February 2024, followed by smaller reductions later that year and in 2025.
The latest cuts come shortly after Rivian started delivering the R2, a smaller and less expensive electric SUV intended to reach more customers than its R1T pickup and R1S SUV. The R2 Performance starts at $57,990, while a Standard version priced from $44,990 is planned for 2027.
Autonomous Driving Spending Delays Profit Target
Rivian had previously targeted positive adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization in 2027. The company withdrew that goal in March because of higher spending on autonomous driving technology.
Rivian currently offers a hands-free driving system that still requires drivers to watch the road. It is developing more advanced technology that could eventually support vehicles operating without a human driver.
The increased investment is connected to a partnership with Uber. Uber plans to invest up to $1.25 billion in Rivian and deploy as many as 50,000 autonomous R2 vehicles through its ride-hailing platform.
The agreement includes an initial plan for 10,000 vehicles beginning in 2028, subject to Rivian reaching development and safety milestones. Additional deployments could follow from 2030.
Rivian has accumulated about $30 billion in losses since its founding. It is relying on higher R2 production, software revenue, and its autonomous vehicle program as it works to reduce costs and improve its financial position.
Featured image credits: Sandy Campbell via Flickr
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