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Rivian May Fire 5% of Its White-Collar Workers, Still Wonders If That's the Right Move

Although blue-collar workers are the ones that get an industry going, white-collar folks are the ones that organize the business. That did not help them avoid being the targets of massive layoffs in the automotive industry. After Tesla said it would fire 10% of its employees, Rivian is wondering about letting 5% of them go.
Rivian may fire 5% of its workforce, focusing on white-collar workers 8 photos
Photo: Rivian
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Bloomberg revealed that Rivian is still studying these measures and is not sure this is the right move. After all, the EV maker has around $17 billion in the bank, substantial shareholders such as Ford and Amazon, steady demand for its vehicles, and expansion plans. Nothing suggests it needs to spend less at this point.

What Rivian was trying hard to beat was the supply chain crisis, which forced Rivian to raise the prices of its vehicles. Unfortunately, the company handled the price increase in a clumsy way, increasing them even for those that reserved cars before the EV maker started delivering them. RJ Scaringe had to apologize and backtrack on the price increase for those early adopters.

Rivian is also facing opposition from residents of the area where it plans to build its second factory in Georgia. They urge the company to choose another location because of the environmental impacts the factory can have, including the pollution of groundwater. Tesla faced similar resistance in Grünheide but just ignored it. Rivian said it would act differently, but area residents said nothing had happened so far.

Finally, an accelerator pedal in an R1T recently broke. Rivian did not answer our requests for an explanation and also ignored the YouTube channel that brought up the issue, E for Electric.

If a manufacturing problem caused it, a recall would solve that. If it is a design issue, Rivian may have to replace all accelerator pedals. That could explain the need to save money. It may also be an isolated situation, but it is one that customers and potential clients deserve to know more about.
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About the author: Gustavo Henrique Ruffo
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Motoring writer since 1998, Gustavo wants to write relevant stories about cars and their shift to a sustainable future.
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