Rivian opens sales of plug-in vans

Irvine-based Rivian Automotive said it will now sell its electric delivery van designed for Amazon.com to other customers, a move to boost revenue from fleet operators as consumer demand for battery-powered cars slows.

The EV maker’s commercial vehicle can now be purchased by fleets of any size, the company said in a statement on Monday. Rivian has primarily produced the van for Amazon under an exclusivity deal that expired in late 2023. It has also deployed the van to a number of unnamed pilot customers to prepare for the mass market, Rivian said.

Deliveries are slated to begin in the second quarter, a Rivian spokesperson said.

If it gains traction, the commercial van could become a bigger source of revenue amid a broader slowdown in consumer EV uptake. Rivian reported $742 million worth of sales to Amazon — primarily related to the delivery van — in the first nine months of last year, nearly a quarter of its $3.2 billion in total revenue during the period.

The additional revenue would offer a boost to Rivian as it works to cut costs ahead of launching its more-affordable R2 SUV. A July report from Cox Automotive found that most fleets expect to own an EV in the next five years.

Amazon, one of Rivian’s biggest shareholders, has a contract to take 100,000 vans from the EV maker by 2030.

Meta job cutting starts in AI shift

Meta Platforms began notifying staff of job cuts on Monday, kick-starting a process that will terminate thousands of people as the company cracks down on “low-performers” and scours for new talent to dominate the AI race.

Meta workers who were let go were notified via email, and the company is offering U.S.-based employees severance packages that include 16 weeks of salary, in addition two weeks for each year of service, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be named because the details weren’t public.

Employees whose review merited a bonus will still get one, and staff will still receive stock awards as part of the upcoming vesting cycle later this month.

CEO Mark Zuckerberg told employees that Meta would cut 5% of its workforce —as many 3,600 people — with a focus on staff who “aren’t meeting expectations,” Bloomberg News first reported in mid-January. International employees could be notified later, Zuckerberg said last month.

Hyatt buying resort owner Playa

Hyatt Hotels Corp. struck a deal to purchase Playa Hotels Resorts NV for about $2.6 billion, expanding its reach into the all-inclusive resort market in countries including the Dominican Republic and Jamaica.

Hyatt will pay $13.50 per share, the lodging company said Monday in a statement. Hyatt already owned 9.4% of Playa’s outstanding shares.

The deal expands Hyatt’s portfolio of all-inclusive resorts, a part of the lodging market Hyatt has targeted with the 2021 acquisition of Apple Leisure Group and a subsequent joint venture with Grupo Piñero. Hyatt began investing in Playa in 2013.

Hyatt and other major lodging companies have been turning to acquisitions and licensing deals to expand the number of hotels they can offer to customers. Recent transactions include Hilton Worldwide Holdings’ purchase of the Graduate and NoMad brands, and Marriott International’s pacts with MGM Resorts International and Sonder Holdings.

Compiled from Bloomberg reports.