Rivian is laying off hundreds of workers after beginning deliveries of its R2 SUV. The layoffs affect less than 2% of Rivian’s workforce and are part of a restructuring aimed at boosting efficiency.

The company has already made three previous rounds of cuts this year, with the latest impacting service and customer teams. Despite these moves, Rivian remains focused on turning a profit, originally targeting 2027 but now potentially delayed further due to investment in autonomous vehicle technology development.

Rivian’s push for profitability was recently bolstered by an investment from Uber, which plans to purchase up to 50,000 R2 SUVs for use as robotaxis. However, the company has yet to demonstrate it can deliver on this ambitious goal, currently offering only a basic hands-off driving feature.

With these cuts and ongoing investments, Rivian’s journey towards profitability is anything but smooth. The question remains: are we closer or further from self-driving taxis?