EV Sales Slow Down, Rivian Returns To Lay Off Employees

JAKARTA - For the second time this year, electric car manufacturer (EV) Rivian announced plans to lay off 1 percent of its employees. The second round of layoffs (PHK) was carried out to reduce costs during the slowdown in EV demand.

"This is a difficult decision, but it needs to be done to support our goal of becoming a gross positive margin by the end of the year," Rivian told Reuters, April 19.

This upcoming layoff is the second time for Rivian to cut employees this year. In February, Rivian laid off 10 percent of his permanent workers on the grounds of optimizing cost efficiency.

Last year, Rivian laid off employees in February 2023, at that time around 6 percent of his employees were laid off after being under pressure from EV competition which significantly lowered prices. Then in December of the same year, Rivian again laid off 20 battery cell development workers.

Rivian is not the only company to lay off layoffs. Tesla and Stellantis are also actively layoffs employees.

Several car companies have mentioned a slowdown in EV demand and are considering hybrid vehicle production.

Ford, General Motors, and Hyundai are several automakers considering hybrid production in the United States.

As reported by Teslarati, April 19, analysts believe the future of the EV market lies in more affordable and reliable electric vehicles. Automakers are starting to develop smaller SUVs and expand EV charging infrastructure to address consumer problems and needs.

In addition, they are also focused on reducing costs. Last month, Rivian announced it would close its plant in Normal, Illinois, in April to repair its production line.