Ford cuts Rivian stake to about 1% amid production woes at EV maker

FORD Motor has cut its stake in struggling EV maker Rivian Automotive to 1.15 per cent, a week after the Detroit automaker reported a fall in profit and predicted a tough year ahead.

Shares of Rivian, which declined to comment on the matter, were down 3.6 per cent in early trade.

Ford, which wrote down the value of its Rivian investment by US$7.4 billion in 2022, has been paring down its stake amid production struggles at the Irvine, California-based company. Ford held a 11.4 per cent stake in Rivian at the end of 2021.

The new stake, disclosed in a Wednesday filing, comes a week after Reuters reported Rivian’s plans to lay off 6 per cent of its staff to cut costs amid falling cash reserves on the back of mounting economic worries.

Rivian shares also had a bleak 2022, losing about 82 per cent of their value.

The company, which has been losing money on every vehicle it builds, narrowly missed its full-year production target of 25,000 units last year as it dealt with supply-chain disruptions. REUTERS