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Rivian eliminating a shift at EV factory in Normal, but all hourly workers will be offered jobs

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The electric automaker Rivian will eliminate one of its three shifts in Normal next month, saying it can meet this year’s modest production goals with only two shifts because the manufacturing plant is getting more efficient.

Rivian employs around 8,000 people in Normal – the bulk of them hourly manufacturing workers. A Rivian spokesperson told WGLT on Tuesday that “all hourly employees will be offered a job on one of the two available shifts as we will increase capacity per shift.”

It’s unclear if any of those hourly workers will see their total weekly hours change as a result. The hourly jobs will still be full-time roles. The Rivian spokesperson said they “gave hourly employees the opportunity to provide feedback regarding shift patterns and to submit their own shift preference. We are assigning shifts based on tenure, preference and operational needs.” […]

Rivian plans to make around 57,000 vehicles in Normal this year – the same as in 2023. High interest rates have cut in demand for EVs, including at Rivian, and founder and CEO RJ Scaringe said increasing demand is one of their key focus areas for the year. There’s also a broader skepticism about how quickly American transportation will electrify that’s led more established automakers to scale back or slow their EV investments.

* Crain’s…

The electric-vehicle maker said last month it expects to keep production at the plant flat this year at about 57,000 vehicles, although analysts had been expecting a production increase to about 81,000 vehicles. The plant in Normal, which employs about 8,000 workers, is shutting down for several weeks in April for retooling that will increase efficiency and reduce costs.

“The shift change will begin when we return from the April shutdown, during which we will transform our R1 production to integrate new engineering design changes that we expect will significantly reduce our cost,” a spokeswoman says. “All hourly employees will be offered a job on one of the two available shifts as we will increase capacity per shift.”

* Crain’s yesterday…

Electric-vehicle maker Rivian laid off about 100 workers at its assembly plant in Normal as part of a broader cost-cutting effort.

The Illinois layoffs are just a tiny fraction of its workforce here. Rivian employs more than 8,000 people in Normal, about 7,000 of whom are hourly workers who produce electric trucks, SUVs and delivery vehicles. But it also has engineers and designers at the facility, the company’s only production plant.

Rivian said Feb. 21 that it would eliminate 10% of its salaried jobs in an effort 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 is expected to preview its mid-size SUV, the R2, later this week in California. The vehicle, forecast to be priced between $40,000 and $60,000, is expected to be built at Rivian’s new plant under construction in Georgia.

posted by Isabel Miller
Wednesday, Mar 6, 24 @ 11:45 am

Comments

With any luck, those layoffs will be short-lived. Rivian is set to unveil a new, lower-priced crossover–the R2–tomorrow.

Comment by Benjamin Wednesday, Mar 6, 24 @ 11:59 am
==With any luck, those layoffs will be short-lived. ==

R2 will be manufactured in Georgia. Sadly, I don’t think they will be bringing those jobs back…especially to Illinois.

Comment by Mr. Middleground Wednesday, Mar 6, 24 @ 12:31 pm
What are they doing about that new factory they were building down south. Is it on hold for now?

Comment by DuPage Wednesday, Mar 6, 24 @ 1:04 pm
That new factory in Georgia isn’t going to open until 2026 at the earliest and will cost $5 billion to complete. I remain skeptical that it will ever get built given this company’s cash burn. It’s not like they can IPO again and they can only dilute shareholders so much with EV sales flattening.

Comment by Former State Worker Wednesday, Mar 6, 24 @ 1:41 pm
Georgia plant info- https://www.detroitnews.com/story/business/autos/2024/01/04/rivian-wins-court-ruling-over-bid-to-halt-5-billion-georgia-plant/72107108007/

Comment by Anon221 Wednesday, Mar 6, 24 @ 1:49 pm
A friend got transferred last fall from Rivian’s Georgia operations to Bloomington, but bosses have told him multiple times, “Don’t sell your house, you’ll be back in Georgia soon enough.” Wondering how much of that work in Bloomington will be shifted over to Georgia once that site is complete.

Comment by Treefiddy Wednesday, Mar 6, 24 @ 2:39 pm
“The company lost $1.52 billion on $1.32 billion in revenue in the fourth quarter.”

Wait, so their expenses were more than double their revenue? At this stage in the game? Marvelous.

Comment by ESR Wednesday, Mar 6, 24 @ 3:07 pm
A quick search has their pickup starting at $69,000 and the S.U.V. starting at $91,000. That might also be a factor in lack of increased demand.

Comment by The Magnificent Purple Walnut Wednesday, Mar 6, 24 @ 4:12 pm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l94CR1lBOWk
Interesting Rivian information.

Comment by DuPage Wednesday, Mar 6, 24 @ 4:46 pm
Unfortunately I have not heard a lot of good things about Rivian as of late. Crossing my fingers but none of this looks promising.

Comment by Just a Random Guy Wednesday, Mar 6, 24 @ 4:46 pm
The challenge facing Rivian and several of their peers is not producing a vehicle that appeals to the masses. The R1T and R1S are pricey niche offerings. They need to compete with the Model 3 and Y today if they hope to be viable in the long term. I’m not optimistic that they’ll be around to see the R2 to fruition.

Comment by Pundent Wednesday, Mar 6, 24 @ 5:09 pm
I live in Bloomington and about every day I drive past State Farm buildings that have their parking lots full of Rivian vehicles. I met a Rivian employee and asked him about all those cars parked on State Farm property. He told me Rivian leases that property to store the vehicles. The amount of vehicles on the lot doesn’t ever seem to shrink.

Comment by Hey You Thursday, Mar 7, 24 @ 7:00 am