Rivian Automotive Inc (NASDAQ:RIVN) is reportedly looking to lay off around 5% of its employees, echoing decisions made by other automobile startups.
The electric truck newcomer has a headcount of over 14,000 employees, which equates to about 700 layoffs in the coming weeks.
The Irvine, California-based company has more than doubled its employee numbers over the past year as production increased.
Job cuts are likely to be made in non-manufacturing areas, according to reports, with duplicate function teams said to be among those targeted.
The company expects to produce 25,000 electric vehicles this year and eventually 600,000 vehicles per year between its existing plant in Normal, Illinois, and a second factory in Georgia that's expected to open in 2024.
It also has an order of 100,000 delivery vehicles for Amazon before the decade is out.
Billionaire investor George Soros has built a US$2bn stake in Rivian, which in November completed one of the largest IPOs in US history.
In recent months, Rivian has hired dozens of former Tesla employees, according to LinkedIn data.
Elon Musk announced plans to reduce Tesla's salaried workforce by 10% in late June, which resulted in around 200 people being cut from the Autopilot team.