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Workers build chassis at an assembly line April 11, 2022, at the Rivian electric vehicle plant in Normal. About 50 nonmanufacturing employees were laid off from the plant July 27, 2022.

NORMAL — Startup electric truck manufacturer Rivian has laid off 6% of its total workforce, or about 840 nonmanufacturing employees, including about 50 at its downstate Normal assembly plant.

California-based Rivian had about 6,000 employees at its sole assembly plant in Normal and about 14,000 across the company, before implementing the restructuring plan Wednesday. The layoffs did not affect manufacturing operations, the company said.

Citing challenges in obtaining additional financing in the current economic environment, Rivian CEO and founder R.J. Scaringe notified employees of the staffing cuts in a companywide letter Wednesday.

“Over the last six months, the world has dramatically changed with inflation reaching record highs, interest rates rapidly rising and commodity prices continuing to climb — all of which have contributed to the global capital markets tightening,” Scaringe said. “We need to be able to continue to grow and scale without additional financing in this macro environment.”

The company was sitting on $17 billion in cash at the end of the first quarter and remains “financially well positioned,” but needs to restructure to support “sustainable growth,” Scaringe said.

The employees who were laid off were notified Wednesday, and will receive a severance package that includes 14 weeks of regular pay and health coverage, Rivian-paid COBRA benefits and job-placement assistance, Scaringe said in his letter, which was obtained by the Tribune.

Rivian launched production in September at a converted Mitsubishi factory, and has struggled with a slower than expected ramp-up, due in part to the global semiconductor shortage. The company has more than 90,000 consumer orders for its R1T pickup and R1S SUV. Amazon, an early investor in Rivian, has ordered 100,000 commercial electric delivery vans.

Last week, the first of the Amazon EDVs hit the road in Chicago and a dozen other cities, but Rivian is behind schedule on delivery.

The company has built about 8,000 EVs, or electric vehicles, through the second quarter, with a scaled-back target of 25,000 vehicles this year. The Normal plant has an annual capacity of 150,000 vehicles and ramping up production remains Rivian’s priority over the next 18 months, Scaringe said in the letter.

While Rivian is downsizing its nonmanufacturing workforce, it is still planning to hire an additional 1,500 workers and add a second shift at the Normal plant this year, a company spokesperson said Friday.

The company is also building a second $5 billion assembly plant in Georgia, which is slated to produce Rivian’s next-generation EV platform.

When Rivian went public in November, investors were betting the EV startup would become the Tesla of trucks, pushing its valuation north of $100 billion. But the stock, which hit a high of $179.47 in mid-November, has fallen sharply this year amid the slow ramp-up, closing at $34.30 per share Friday and cutting Rivian’s market cap to about $30 billion.

Rivian is planning to report its second quarter earnings on Aug. 11.

A storage area at the former Mitsubishi Motors North America plant, now owned by Rivian Automotive is seen Tuesday, March 7, 2017.

Workers begin site preparation on Jan. 24 for facilities to build batteries at the Rivian production plant in Normal.

Site preparations begin at the Rivian plant in west Normal on Friday, Jan. 24, 2020, as the company adds new buildings designed to make batteries for the company's electric vehicles.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker, left, talks with RJ Scaringe, CEO of Rivian Automotive, about the company's innovative electric vehicle chassis called a "skateboard" during Rivian's public rollout of its new prototype vehicles in Uptown Normal in October. 

Large crowds turned out to look at Rivian Automotive's R1S prototype during a public rollout of the company's new vehicles in Uptown Normal Sunday, Oct. 13, 2019. 

More than 2,000 people turned out to look at Rivian Automotive's R1T prototype during Rivian's public rollout of its new vehicles in Uptown Normal Sunday, Oct. 13, 2019. The company hopes its vehicles will begin rolling off the former Mitsubishi plant assembly line by late 2020.

RJ Scaringe, center, CEO of Rivian Automotive, reaches out to State Sen. Bill Brady, as Scaringe met with Brady, Gov. J.B. Pritzker, State Rep. Dan Brady and Normal Mayor Chris Koos, far right, during Rivian's public rollout of its new prototype vehicles in Uptown Normal Sunday, Oct. 13, 2019.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker, left, talks with RJ Scaringe, CEO of Rivian Automotive, about the company's innovative electric vehicle chassis called a "skateboard" during Rivian's public rollout of its new prototype vehicles in Uptown Normal on Sunday, Oct. 13, 2019. Scaringe said the event was designed to introduce the company to the town of Normal, where it will manufacture its vehicles in the former Mitsubishi auto plant that closed in November 2015. Rivian has invested $29.4 million in the facility in recent weeks.

Patrick Hunt, Rivian strategy director, explains how an accessory camp kitchen complete with a stove, can slide into the tunnel of the company's R1T pickup truck during Rivian's public rollout of its new prototype vehicles in Uptown Normal Sunday, Oct. 13, 2019. The camp kitchen is one of several different modular accessories that can be fit inside the tunnel behind the passenger compartment. 

Patrick Hunt, Rivian strategy director, explains how an accessory camp kitchen complete with a stove, can slide into the tunnel of the company's R1T pickup truck during Rivian's public rollout of its new prototype vehicles in Uptown Normal Sunday, Oct. 13, 2019. The camp kitchen is one of several different modular accessories that can be fit inside the tunnel behind the passenger compartment. 

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The storms that began Thursday afternoon lasted for a few hours and dropped about 2 to 4 inches of rain.

Parts of the former Pheasant Run Resort were heavily damaged or destroyed by the May 21 fire.

Jefferson County Sheriff's Department Capt. Bobby Wallace said neither sustained life-threatening injuries.

Workers build chassis at an assembly line April 11, 2022, at the Rivian electric vehicle plant in Normal. About 50 nonmanufacturing employees were laid off from the plant July 27, 2022.

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