Rivian said it has hired a new chief operating officer to lead the restructuring and alignment of its operations.
Rivian will have a new COO on June 1 in Frank Klein.
Rivian's ability to meet its goal of building 25,000 vehicles in four years is in doubt due to the departure of its head of manufacturing. The EV maker built 2,553 vehicles and delivered 1,227 in the first quarter, which means it must increase production more than tenfold for the rest of the year to meet its target.
Rivian said in a statement that Mr. Klein will oversee production, manufacturing engineering and supply chain. We want to maximize the shift to electric transportation while driving value for our customers and investors.
The Irvine, California-based electric vehicle startup has faced increasing production pressures since launching late last year in one of the largest IPOs in U.S. history.
The EV maker burned through cash trying to bring its R1T pickup truck and R1S SUV to market and deliver its EDV commercial electric van to Amazon, which led to its first-quarter losses widening nearly fourfold.
Rivian announced a target to own more than 10% of the global market eventually on a call with investors in May. More than 90,000 orders have been placed in the U.S. and Canada, according to the CEO.
The top priority for the automaker is to increase production at its factory in Normal, Illinois, where it will have a second shift this summer. The two factories will be able to produce 600,000 vehicles annually.
The company is expected to break ground on a factory this summer where it will eventually produce vehicles on its future R2 platform, a more accessibly priced mid-sized SUV targeting global markets.
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