Rivian to launch second-generation R2 electric SUV production in Illinois, not Georgia

The unveiling of the R2 comes as Rivian plans for a three-week shutdown to retool its Normal plant.

The plant shutdown, which will run from April 8 to 28, is designed to accommodate a number of supplier and component changes to reduce material costs, while improving the speed of production.

As part of the retooling, Rivian plans to eliminate a third production shift and consolidate its 7,000 assembly line workers into two shifts.

“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,” said Rivian spokesperson Kelli Felker. “All hourly employees will be offered a job on one of the two available shifts as we will increase capacity per shift.”

Last month, Rivian announced it was laying off 10% of its salaried workforce amid slowing demand industrywide for electric vehicles. California-based Rivian had more than 8,000 workers in Normal and about 16,700 employees overall, prior to the layoff announcement.

While the 7,000 hourly assembly workers were not affected, an undisclosed number of the 1,000 nonmanufacturing employees in Normal were given notice last month.

The Normal plant will need to be retooled again at some point to accommodate production of the R2, Felker said Thursday. The new line will be built alongside the R1 and electric delivery vans.

As to how the R2 line will affect staffing requirements in Normal, Rivian will have more information on that in the future, Felker said.

Last year, Rivian produced 57,232 vehicles. Its target for this year remains 57,000 vehicles as it navigates high interest rates, flattening demand for EVs and the planned three-week shutdown of the Normal plant next month.

Rivian generated $1.3 billion in revenue and lost more than $1.5 billion in the fourth quarter of 2023.

The company had $7.86 billion in cash as of Dec. 31.

On Thursday, Scaringe said the new R2 and R3 SUVs will help expand the market for Rivian.

“These represent our future, these represent what we’ve been building to, the brand that we established with the R1 products and positioning Rivian to take that further and make that more accessible to more people,” Scaringe said.

Rivian, which traded above $100 per share after its November 2021 initial public offering, has seen its stock price and valuation plummet in the wake of a slow production ramp-up and decelerating demand for EVs. The stock price, which had been cut in half this year, jumped more than 13% on the R2 unveil and Normal production news, closing at $12.51 per share Thursday afternoon.