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Rivian laying off hundreds of workers amid R2 launch

CNBC • June 16, 2026 • business

Key Points:

Rivian is laying off hundreds of workers, representing less than 2% of its workforce, to help narrow its financial losses, with cuts affecting service and customer teams.
The company had 15,232 employees across North America and Europe at the end of 2023 and described the layoffs as part of a restructuring to scale profitably.
The layoffs follow the launch of Rivian's new R2 SUV, intended to shift the company from a niche luxury EV maker to a more mainstream brand competing with Tesla.
Rivian aims to achieve profitability with the R2 model but has yet to post an annual profit, having lost $3.6 billion last year while delivering 42,247 vehicles.
The EV market is becoming more challenging due to regulatory changes, including the elimination of the $7,500 federal EV purchase incentive under the previous U.S. administration.

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