RIVN: Rivian Stock Dives 26% on Steep Q4 Loss, CEO Takes It Out on Workers

Electric-truck maker’s boss said the company can’t keep up with the high interest rates and is looking to cut as many as 1,670 workers.

• Rivian stock RIVN downshifted its valuation by 26% on Thursday after the company reported another lossmaking quarter. The electric-truck maker lost $1.58 per share from revenue of $1.3 billion. The figure was steeper than the $1.35-per-share loss anticipated by Wall Street. The company’s CEO blamed the high interest rate environment and vowed to take action.
• But not against him. In a bid to steer the company out of the slump, founder and chief executive RJ Scaringe said he plans to cut 10% of his salaried workers. Rivian currently employs 16,700 hourly and salaried staff. To further disappoint investors, the startup reduced its 2024 production target to 57,000 battery-powered trucks and vans, or fewer than 2023’s production volume of 57,232 units.
• It’s a bad week for the EV stock holders. Shares of Lucid Group LCID, a rival EV startup, fell 17% after it posted $157 million in sales for the fourth quarter and a net loss of 30 cents a share. The figure is down from $258 million in the year-ago quarter. Meanwhile, Tesla stock TSLA is chugging along with a 4% weekly gain but is staring at a 20% year-to-date loss as investors take their time in reevaluating the EV kingpin.