After slashing its workforce in February when it laid off more than 800 employees, electric vehicle maker Rivian is once again hoping to cut costs by laying off a further 100 workers at its factory in Normal, Illinois.
Amazon-backed Rivian announced this week that it had laid off “about 100” workers at its production facility, which accounts for just over one percent of the employees at its site. The layoffs, first reported by Crain’s Chicago Business, come amid extensive cost-cutting measures for the EV maker as it tries to turn a profit on its $70,000 cars. Crain’s reports:
Rivian said Feb. 21 that it would eliminate 10% of its salaried jobs to cut costs and get to profitability more quickly. The company lost $1.52 billion on $1.32 billion in revenue in the fourth quarter.
The company faces two challenges as it ramps up production to high enough volumes to make money. The company’s stock is down and interest rates are high, limiting its ability to absorb losses by raising more capital, forcing it to pay closer attention to costs.
More broadly, demand for EVs beyond early adopters isn’t proving as strong as the industry expected, creating another headwind.
The layoffs come as the R1T maker faces uncertainty in the EV market. So far this year, the company’s stock price has tumbled to just $11 per share, which is more than seven times less than its debut price of $78 in November 2021.
Read more: Rivian’s 15th year is starting just as poorly as Tesla’s did
With layoffs sweeping the automaker and it projecting a pretty lousy 2024, Rivian will have all its hopes on its latest model turning things around. The automaker will add a more affordable electric SUV to its range in the coming weeks. The R2 is predicted to break cover later this week, but specs of the new car appeared online just yesterday.
A version of this article originally appeared on Jalopnik’s The Morning Shift.