Rivian laid off about 20 members of its battery cell development team

[DuoRivians]

https://www.theinformation.com/arti...becomes-the-latest-to-lay-off-battery-workers

https://about.bnef.com/blog/lithium-ion-battery-pack-prices-hit-record-low-of-139-kwh/

It’s behind a paywall. Does anyone have access to The Information?

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[Dark-Fx]

My normal ways still hit the paywall.

 

[SolartoEV]

Strong paywall

 

[Dark-Fx]

Does this layoff give or take credence to 800V coming soon? If the development is complete and Rivian doesn't plan on continuous development in the area, they would certainly need fewer people in this area of expertise.

 

[DuoRivians]

Does this layoff give or take credence to 800V coming soon? If the development is complete and Rivian doesn't plan on continuous development in the area, they would certainly need fewer people in this area of expertise.

I wouldn’t imagine they’re necessarily related. Could be related to anything in batteries, so hard to speculate. ~20 people doesn’t seem like a lot to me in the first place.

Could be more info in the article, but imo, this doesnt seem that important to want to pay for the subscription. Just curious if anyone already had one and could share the full article ?

 

[SeaGeo]

Does this layoff give or take credence to 800V coming soon? If the development is complete and Rivian doesn't plan on continuous development in the area, they would certainly need fewer people in this area of expertise.

Seems like it's more of a sign that they are slowing development of their own cells (if not stopping). RJ had a somewhat awkward answer about cell development in an interview after their q3 financial call that is coming to mind.

 

[DuoRivians]

BEV battery pack costs are coming down pretty quickly too.

According to BNEF, in 2023, it was $128/kWh on average. Then, predicted to be $113/kWh in 2025 and $80/kWh in 2030.

https://about.bnef.com/blog/lithium-ion-battery-pack-prices-hit-record-low-of-139-kwh/

 

[SANZC02]

Seems odd that no one else has this information.

Could just be a small department reorg based on the 2024 info the CFO was just talking about.

I wonder if more people will pick this news up tomorrow.

 

[Zormino]

I guess it doesn't seem good, but 20 people is a fraction of a drop in the bucket

 

[DuoRivians]

That’s not what the article is saying, but your comments seems to fit your MO here

 

[Electrified Outdoors]

Article is locked behind a paywall. Never heard of this publication.

Here is a non paywalled version.

https://uk.investing.com/news/stock...eported-layoff-of-lead-cell-engineer-3263251#

Could mean a lot of different things. They are pausing in house cell development and working with partners so it sounds like a change in strategy.

Could mean 800v is coming?

 

[BrentInCO]

https://www.rivianforums.com/forum/threads/layoffs-at-rivian-due-to-slowing-sales.22008/post-446857

 

[Donald Stanfield]

They fired a department head. So it is most likely a shift in focus or personal. With firing the rest of his team it sounds like a shift in focus. Maybe they weren't delivering on results promised and Rivian is trimming the fat. Important thing to remember is stuff like this is expected and not a bad thing.

There is no roadmap in business, more like a loose outline and it takes time to get your focus and figure out who you need to hire.

 

[eskudo12791]

https://www.benzinga.com/news/23/12...atform-stays-silent-on-reported-layoff-of-lea

 

[Zoidz]

This can’t be a good sign.

https://www.theinformation.com/arti...f-battery-workers?utm_source=ti_app&rc=yrcwnw

The article implies a shift of focus and direction. That in no way means it is a bad sign. What if they stopped this internal R&D because of a new agreement with Samsung that saves Rivian $Millions$ a year by adopting newly developed and perfected R&D from Samsung or others? Why continue spending money on internal R&D? Rivian is a first and foremost vehicle company, not a battery company. They don't R&D lots of components in the vehicle.

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