Rivian lays off 150 sales and service teams (9/4/25)

[Tony de Veyra]

Good to know these service layoffs happened on the same day I dropped off my R1S at a service center and it died. Maybe that's a partial explanation for why its been three days and they have yet to get back to me with an explanation or prognosis as to the cause of the damage.

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[waitingonanr1s]

Good to know these service layoffs happened on the same day I dropped off my R1S at a service center and it died. Maybe that's a partial explanation for why its been three days and they have yet to get back to me with an explanation or prognosis as to the cause of the damage.

That’s normal diagnosis time in my experience. All 3 of my recent service visits since May have taken a week to diagnose (diagnosis still under way with visit 3).

 

[mkg3]

It's important to remember that as Rivian opens more SCs, nearby existing SC probably has excess staff. Given how spread out the SCs are, with few exceptions, not ideal for any employee to commute excessive distance away.

There is a rebalancing going on, I believe in addition to streamlining their processes and cutting costs.

 

[AlMc]

I get that they have to save money as they are in cash burn 'valley of death'.
GA factory is either make or break. Not sure who will be in charge of that construction but better be someone with lots of experience. If we use a Tesla example. JB Strauble put in charge of Giga 1 in Nevada. This was not in his skill set and he parted ways with Tesla during that time. Rivian needs someone who knows how to build/manufacture at scale.

 

[SeaGeo]

It's important to remember that as Rivian opens more SCs, nearby existing SC probably has excess staff. Given how spread out the SCs are, with few exceptions, not ideal for any employee to commute excessive distance away.

There is a rebalancing going on, I believe in addition to streamlining their processes and cutting costs.

Nah, they are just cutting costs. WA no longer has someone who can work on the HV packs because they laid off the senior tech here.

They underpay techs, and are pushing it further by removing experienced techs.

 

[waitingonanr1s]

Nah, they are just cutting costs. WA no longer has someone who can work on the HV packs because they laid off the senior tech here.

They underpay techs, and are pushing it further by removing experienced techs.

And some of the new SC's they're opening share senior diagnostic technicians - Denver and Colorado Springs (Denver tech visits COS a 1-2 times per week). They should close down every space they have and invest it in service and sales people. Their brand is nothing without good people behind it. Instead they just open more spaces and lay off more staff.

 

[mkg3]

...They should close down every space they have and invest it in service and sales people...

How will Rivian make people aware of their products? Comment is fine for existing owners who wants more prompt service.

Those on the forum knows just about everything to know about Rivian. Not true for vast majority of people.

Spaces, whenever I've passed on by them (Laguna, Irvine, San Diego) on the way to somewhere else, is full of people. Unlike dealerships, there is no heavy pressure for sales and are open and welcoming - which is a big part of Rivian's branding. Without them, sales would suffer quite a bit, I beleive.

Since the vehicles are ordered online exclusively, sales people really are not needed as much. They just need to help customers place orders.

Sorry to hear about the senior HV battery tech in the Seattle area. That said, more and more diagnostics are done remotely and the replacement is rather mechanical so I can understand some reasoning for the elimination. Still optics is not great.

 

[SeaGeo]

That said, more and more diagnostics are done remotely and the replacement is rather mechanical so I can understand some reasoning for the elimination. Still optics is not great. Sponsored

No, like they literally have to fly a tech into the market to service those components.

But yeah, continue giving people rentals for three weeks while their cars it in a SC lot not getting worked on because they don't have enough service techs. That's definitely the way to profitability.

 

[waitingonanr1s]

How will Rivian make people aware of their products? Comment is fine for existing owners who wants more prompt service.

Those on the forum knows just about everything to know about Rivian. Not true for vast majority of people.

Spaces, whenever I've passed on by them (Laguna, Irvine, San Diego) on the way to somewhere else, is full of people. Unlike dealerships, there is no heavy pressure for sales and are open and welcoming - which is a big part of Rivian's branding. Without them, sales would suffer quite a bit, I beleive.

Since the vehicles are ordered online exclusively, sales people really are not needed as much. They just need to help customers place orders.

Sorry to hear about the senior HV battery tech in the Seattle area. That said, more and more diagnostics are done remotely and the replacement is rather mechanical so I can understand some reasoning for the elimination. Still optics is not great.

Tesla did just fine without opening showrooms in the most expensive real estate areas in every city in their infancy. They can’t service the customers they have properly and are laying off staff. Obviously they are likely in long term leases so a lot of the costs are sunk, but to continue opening new spaces while they are laying off staff and can’t service their existing owners properly is irresponsible imo. Every time I’ve been in the San Diego space it’s been empty. Maybe it’s an anomaly but just seems like an unnecessary expense when they’re trying to preserve cash.

The ordering process sucks now. You get bounced around between folks that don’t really care since no one follows your order from start to finish. Sales people are needed to help folks navigate the myriad of constantly changing incentives. They originally had assigned guides but they watered that down until we got to the mess we did today. The space did come in handy for that - I used them to navigate all the red tape that is their ordering process now - an existing owner upgrading from gen 1 to gen 2. They seemed just happy to have something to do, meanwhile I couldnt get the info I needed to complete the sale through the normal channels. The sales process is a mess - I’m not the only one that’s experienced this.

If they weren’t making cuts in operations and they were running like a well oiled machine, then by all means invest in spaces to increase sales. But they can’t handle the customers they have now.

 

[Ralph]

My understanding is it included a service manager who had gained a lot of brand loyalty from customers and at least one service tech who worked on consumer vehicles.


So yes, it likely impacts customer service operations.

Edit: Additionally they let go of 7 techs, service advisors, or service managers from the Seattle location, including their senior tech and HV specialist.


I'm going to be honest, I ordered a tri this weekend. If this had happened last week, I would not have ordered that vehicle and am now concerned about getting it serviced.

Was this service center widely regarded as a "high performing" one? Rivian wouldn't be the first company that used lay-offs during bleak periods to re-staff for various performance reasons.

And yes, I did read your subsequent posts re: the subject and flying a tech in, etc.

 

[mkg3]

Tesla did just fine without opening showrooms in the most expensive real estate areas in every city in their infancy. They can’t service the customers they have properly and are laying off staff. Obviously they are likely in long term leases so a lot of the costs are sunk, but to continue opening new spaces while they are laying off staff and can’t service their existing owners properly is irresponsible imo. Every time I’ve been in the San Diego space it’s been empty. Maybe it’s an anomaly but just seems like an unnecessary expense when they’re trying to preserve cash.

The ordering process sucks now. You get bounced around between folks that don’t really care since no one follows your order from start to finish. Sales people are needed to help folks navigate the myriad of constantly changing incentives. They originally had assigned guides but they watered that down until we got to the mess we did today. The space did come in handy for that - I used them to navigate all the red tape that is their ordering process now - an existing owner upgrading from gen 1 to gen 2. They seemed just happy to have something to do, meanwhile I couldnt get the info I needed to complete the sale through the normal channels. The sales process is a mess - I’m not the only one that’s experienced this.

If they weren’t making cuts in operations and they were running like a well oiled machine, then by all means invest in spaces to increase sales. But they can’t handle the customers they have now.

It seems that perhaps you're extending your personal experience to be the general situation. Sorry that you had issues upgrading from G1 to G2.

As a long time Tesla investor since their IPO and still am and own a Tesla in an addition to a Rivian, they did open up showrooms in just about every high end malls throughout the country early on. That said the comparison is essentially meaningless, as they were the only game in town. Now, every EV is one of many.

Clearly it sounds like certain parts of the country that have more Rivians than others need more SCs. In SoCal, near me, I have two SCs within 15 miles and another in 30 miles. There are R1Ses running around at every street. I realize both WA and CO have many Rivians but in SoCal, its probably an order of magnitude more.

The forum has probably less than 3% of people that own Rivian and those that post are more likely to have issue than those without.

All I am saying is abandoning Spaces is not the solution. Improving SCs are a must and will be the achilles heal for R2 if they do not. That doesn't mean that Rivian stop opening Spaces, much less shut them down.

 

[AlMc]

I am sure Rivian C suite would like to abandon spaces and just sell everything through online/remote sales stationed at HQ. Just about every business that has retail space would like it if everyone would just shop online and they could do away with brick and mortar.
I shop for lots of things on amazon but not for a car. Now as another person posted, once I have purchased/enjoyed a vehicle from a company I would consider (and in the case of Tesla, have) buying online.
IMO, Rivian is following the Tesla model. Get good /experienced sales people in initially and move cars. Then, shed those people for less experienced (and lower cost) people at the spaces who basically are there to monitor test drives. I suspect the full time people shed at the spaces will be replaced by part time (read no benefits) people...Again, the Tesla model.

 

[waitingonanr1s]

It seems that perhaps you're extending your personal experience to be the general situation. Sorry that you had issues upgrading from G1 to G2.

As a long time Tesla investor since their IPO and still am and own a Tesla in an addition to a Rivian, they did open up showrooms in just about every high end malls throughout the country early on. That said the comparison is essentially meaningless, as they were the only game in town. Now, every EV is one of many.

Clearly it sounds like certain parts of the country that have more Rivians than others need more SCs. In SoCal, near me, I have two SCs within 15 miles and another in 30 miles. There are R1Ses running around at every street. I realize both WA and CO have many Rivians but in SoCal, its probably an order of magnitude more.

The forum has probably less than 3% of people that own Rivian and those that post are more likely to have issue than those without.

All I am saying is abandoning Spaces is not the solution. Improving SCs are a must and will be the achilles heal for R2 if they do not. That doesn't mean that Rivian stop opening Spaces, much less shut them down.

I'm not the only one who has experienced this and Rivian's blindness to their operational issues is part of why it's struggling - this forum, reddit and others are filled with bad experiences. Even more concerning than the issues themselves is how they respond to them - spending weeks driving Enterpise rentals while service centers struggle to diagnose problems once the vehicles are there is not helping the brand. I mean why can they not have large enough loaner fleets to at least provide folks with a Rivian while theirs are fixed? That would go a long way with me and I'm sure others as well. Out of 27 days my gen 2 has been in service, I've gotten a loaner for 9. At least Enterprise has me in a Chevy Equinox this time rather than a Mitsubishi.

I'm about 4 days short of my gen 2 I got in May officially being a lemon, and I can't believe I'm seriously considering lemoning it after such a good experience with my Gen 1. The company has fallen a long way in customer service over the last 3 years - laying off operations staff is not going to help.

If they're short on cash, then they should be cutting spending on spaces rather than operations, which is struggling. That's my point.

 

[Carscott]

My vehicle is in service and I saw delays in service immediately when this was announced.

 

[SeaGeo]

Was this service center widely regarded as a "high performing" one? Rivian wouldn't be the first company that used lay-offs during bleak periods to re-staff for various performance reasons.

And yes, I did read your subsequent posts re: the subject and flying a tech in, etc.

Generally speaking people have had decent experiences, except for the lack of capacity. The senior people that were let go were specifically trusted by owners.

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