According to a source familiar with the matter, Rivian, the US electric pickup truck and SUV maker, is working to relocate some manufacturing and engineering team members. The goal is to get them closer to the company's factory in Normal, Illinois, to boost production.
The news first came from The Wall Street Journal, which cited the anonymous source. However, the publication noted that we should expect to see an official announcement from Rivian soon enough. The person with the information said people at Rivian working on manufacturing engineering are being asked to relocate to either central Illinois or to the area near Rivian's headquarters in Irvine, California.
We are beginning to see a trend of many automakers, as well as folks from numerous other companies, returning to work. In the meantime, thanks to hiccups and a lack of normalcy still lingering from the COVID-19 pandemic, some of those returning workers are being asked to relocate. In light of the news, a spokesperson from Rivian told Reuters:
"In terms of ramping production, it's helpful to have the manufacturing and engineering teams closer to our facilities in Normal as well as our headquarters in Irvine."
However, to be clear, the Rivian spokesperson would not officially comment on whether or not the relocation efforts are being made official.
Rivian has been struggling as is expected of an automotive startup, especially of one coming to market in the midst of a pandemic and amid much domestic and global chaos. It's losing money on each vehicle, at least for now, and it was unable to pull off its production goal of 25,000 copies in 2022, though it only missed the estimate by a small margin.
Going forward, Rivian promises a huge delivery wave soon, as well as accelerated delivery times. However, in order to keep those promises, ramping up production must be a top priority. Just last month, February 2023, the automaker forecasted its 2023 production to fall below the consensus of analysts, which poses yet another negative impact on the company and its stock. The automaker aims to produce 50,000 units in 2023.
Do you think Rivian will make it through these tough times and live on in the future as a successful automaker? What about rival EV startups, including Lucid and Fisker? Leave us your words of wisdom in the comment section below.
