Rivian Layoff 10% Staff and Lowers Production Forecast for 2024

[Tahoe Man]

What I meant is that if it ever did happen, I'd hope that Rivian would just become a separate brand under GM, meaning that they'd pretty much leave Rivian alone to do it's thing instead of trying to turn Rivian into another typical GM brand.

Saturn did fail, but if you really look at Saturn, it was typical GM stuff with a couple of exceptions---plastic body panels that didn't dent and a sales strategy where pricing was non-negotiable, which at the time was kind of groundbreaking for a mainstream auto manufacturer. Ironically, we're seeing more and more of that today, albeit for direct purchases that don't happen at a dealership.

I see, yes I understand now. I do remember Saturn and in fact bought a Saturn but returned it within 30 days for my money back. It was a unique brand from GM but again it ultimately failed. You can have really happy customers, a very special product, top management talent, a special manufacturing technique but nothing is guaranteed for survival.

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[RivRyan]

Definitely agree not a great idea to sandbag the production number. I think they did that because they wanted to be sure how long the planned shutdown turns out to be and whether the efficiency gains actually pan out. If they do I then expect an upgrade to the target mid year to something in the mid 60s and much closer to analyst numbers. This long with decent (>100k) R2 reservations will help lift the share price.

I think you're going to be disappointed. I don't think mid-market car buyers are avid reservation-grabbers. I think they just buy a car.

 

[Supratachophobia]

I posted this on another thread. But I also have another coat savings suggestion....

Let the guide program go. The only real traction I've received is from the main number. Roll who you need into CS and lay off the guides plus any toxic Tesla employees that snuck in. Boom, there's your cost savings through 2024.

 

[DuoRivian]

If being bought happens BMW would be a good option (although not clear if they have $10 billion to buy the company). It would compliment their existing portfolio of Lucy vehicles (BEV and ICE). And give them an outdoors brand like Subaru, Jeep and Land Rover.
worldwide sales and improved purchasing power.

 

[waitingonanr1s]

I posted this on another thread. But I also have another coat savings suggestion....

Let the guide program go. The only real traction I've received is from the main number. Roll who you need into CS and lay off the guides plus any toxic Tesla employees that snuck in. Boom, there's your cost savings through 2024.

Agree, the guide program is sort of silly.

 

[NY_Rob]

If anything, Rivian could possibly assemble the EDV in a temp building/tent which is a much simpler vehicle than the R1 vehicles, and build R2's in the existing EDV space. Just a thought.

Those Georgia NIMBY lawsuits were killer for Rivian!

 

[R1TS]

I posted this on another thread. But I also have another coat savings suggestion....

Let the guide program go. The only real traction I've received is from the main number. Roll who you need into CS and lay off the guides plus any toxic Tesla employees that snuck in. Boom, there's your cost savings through 2024.

Based on (lack of) experience, it doesn't seem like there's many guides to begin with. Average Rivian buyer probably gets one or two contacts at most per order. I only got 1 call from a guide for each an R1T and R1S. After that initial call, they never responded. Plus, it was faster reaching a human on their main line. I bet they were all probably hourly. Maybe save at most $1M out of the nearly $4-$5 billion in cash burn annually.

 

[Twitter Fingers]

My guide Eddy texts me back right way every time. Great employee!

 

[elektrode]

Hammered!

 

[Biturbowned]

Perhaps you rather see the company go bankrupt and fail.

Elon did it because he could and needed to do something to increase the throughput to avoid bankruptcy.

Build quality?? Get real. Rivian quality is anything but stellar. Maybe you've missed all the panel gaps, failed drive units and all the other posting here since the production started. I've been luck, my R1S build is okay. Its almost as good as my Tesla.

Rivian quality is way better than Tesla’s in my experience. Not perfect, but better by degrees.

 

[mini2nut]

Unfortunately I predict another wave or two of layoff’s are in Rivian’s future. The R2, Rivian‘s Model 3 volume product, is still a long way off and they are burning through billions of dollars.

 

[VSG]

One question that wasn’t raised in potential global expansion for R1. Ofcourse this comes with associated costs but high sticker price items like Lotus Eletre have gained decent sales globally. If the EV winter lasts longer and EV credits are revoked due to change in administration, things might get harder and Normal plant might have to run at less than half its capacity.

The R1 was never made to be sold overseas. It would take some re-engineering to make that possible, and Rivian has said they're not planning on doing that. The R2 on the other hand has been designed from the start as a global vehicle, and Rivian's expansion outside of North America will begin with the R2.

 

[VSG]

Thankfully, others can lease now for 3 years for less than the loss in value by buying new.
And, that’s due to the IRA.

No, leasing isn't a benefit brought on by the IRA, it's a way to get around the IRA by using the commercial sales loophole. Rivian added leasing to make the R1 more affordable to customers after the IRA trashed the $7500 consumer tax credit, and to make the R1 more affordable in the way that doesn't reduce Rivian's revenue per vehicle. A nice business move, but NOT something that was intended by the IRA.

 

[VSG]

Didn't the old registration legislation expire? So they had to do something or there would be nothing at all.

(My correction, for clarity. Speaking about the IRA legislation here ...). No, the old EV tax credit didn't expire. Part of the compromise for the new legislation was to add battery sourcing and assembly requirements intended to be protectionist against countries, especially China, which pose a threat to domestic car makers. But unfortunately materials sourcing and battery manufacturing are not things that can be drastically changed overnight - it will take a couple of years for domestic car makers to catch up. Ironically, companies like Hyundai and Kia are going to continue to benefit from the full tax credit while pure-US manufacturers like Rivian are getting hurt.

So no, the change to the EV tax credit wasn't necessary, and was in part designed to do things other than increase EV sales. Over the short term, it is actually hurting EV sales.

 

[vandy1981]

What I meant is that if it ever did happen, I'd hope that Rivian would just become a separate brand under GM, meaning that they'd pretty much leave Rivian alone to do it's thing instead of trying to turn Rivian into another typical GM brand.

Worked out great for Saab!

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