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Several top executives at Rivian Automotive Inc., including the vice president of body engineering oversight and head of supply chain, have left the EV startup in recent months as the company ends a year of falling short of its production targets .
The departures, which were confirmed by a Rivian spokeswoman, are the latest developments at a challenging time for Rivian, which launched its first all-electric models but missed a critical milestone of manufacturing 25,000 vehicles last year. The company said it was off target by about 700 vehicles, partly because of the difficulty in getting parts.
Rivian stock has also plummeted since its blockbuster IPO in November 2021, down around 79% by Tuesday’s close.
| ticker | security | Last | To change | To change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RIVN | RIVIAN AUTOMOTIVE INC. | 16.45 | -0.17 | -1.02% |
The departing executives were some of Rivian’s longer-serving employees. Among them are Randy Frank, vice president of body and interior engineering, and Steve Gawronski, vice president of parts purchasing. Both had left earlier this year.
Mr. Frank joined Rivian in 2019 from Ford Motor Co. Mr. Gawronski joined in 2018 from the autonomous vehicle startup Zoox.
Another early employee, Patrick Hunt, a senior director on the strategy team, left the company late last year. Mr. Hunt joined Rivian in 2015.
Rivian’s General Counsel, Neil Sitron, left the company in September after 4½ years with the company, which was founded in 2009.
Rivian’s spokeswoman said the steps were taken to ensure the startup has the talent and people it needs to ramp up production. The company did not want to comment on the individual circumstances of the departures.
“We continue to attract world-class talent to our company as our business needs change,” she said.
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Large crowds came to view Rivian Automotive’s R1S prototype during a public launch of the company’s new vehicles in Normal, Illinois on October 13, 2019. (David Proeber/The Pantagraph via AP/AP Newsroom)
The departures mark the recent reshuffle at the helm of Rivian, which has brought new executives to oversee the company’s manufacturing operations. The company’s first full year of factory production was marred by supply chain issues and difficulties in getting the assembly line up to speed.
Tim Fallon, former Nissan Motor Co. factory manager in Canton, Miss., was hired in early 2022 to run Rivian’s only factory in Normal, Illinois.
In June, Rivian hired Frank Klein as chief operating officer of contract manufacturer Magna Steyr.
In a November email to employees reviewed by the Journal, Mr. Klein wrote that with Mr. Gawronski’s departure, the company took the opportunity to make some organizational changes to ensure it can handle the increasing complexity, that the group will face in the years to come.
Mr. Klein added that Rivian was reorganizing its supply chain management, making one vice president responsible for supply chain and logistics and another for parts sourcing.
He also announced that Rivian has hired Andreas Reutter of toolmaker Stanley Black & Decker Inc. to oversee Rivian’s supply chain logistics.
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RJ Scaringe, founder and chief executive officer of Rivian Automotive Inc., unveils the R1T electric pickup (left) and R1S electric sports utility vehicle (SUV) during an unveiling event at AutoMobility LA ahead of the Los Angeles Auto Show in Los ( (Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg/Getty Images)
The changes at the top of Rivian come as the company seeks to transform itself from an upstart looking to raise capital to a mass manufacturer with ambitions to become one of the largest automakers in the world.
Its first all-electric models, the R1T pickup and R1S SUV, are relatively new. The company has only been building cars at its Illinois plant since late 2021. Until then, it had never built or sold a single retail vehicle.
As part of its expansion, Rivian embarked on a hiring spree, rapidly growing from about 1,200 employees in 2019 to about 14,000 employees last summer, and has only recently begun to create positions that exist in many companies.
In April, jewelry maker Tiffany Inc. hired Anisa Kamadoli Costa as chief sustainability officer. In October, Rivian hired a former Capital One Financial Corp. executive, Diane Lye, as its first chief information officer.
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Workers lower an R1T truck body onto a chassis on the assembly line at the Rivian electric vehicle plant April 11, 2022 in Normal, Illinois. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images) (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images/Getty Images)
As Rivian struggled to increase factory production, it came under pressure to cut spending. Last summer, the company laid off about 6% of its workforce and cut spending on many of its programs.
The company focused on ramping up production of its current set of vehicles. It also makes an electric delivery truck, which it sells to Amazon.com Inc.
One example of the young automaker’s shifting priorities is that Rivian has suspended negotiations with Mercedes-Benz AG over a proposed van partnership in Europe, which had been an expansion target for Chief Executive RJ Scaringe. Rivian said the decision came after a reassessment of growth opportunities.
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The company reported a net loss of $5 billion for the first nine months of 2022 and its cash position fell to $13.8 billion at the end of September, compared to $15.46 billion in June. Rivian is expected to release its annual results on February 28th.