Rivian’s Chief Operating Officer Rod Copes has stepped down, the company announced in a statement on Monday.
The COOs departure comes at a critical time when the automaker is struggling to ramp production of their R1T and R1S electric vehicles (EVs).
According to the statement, Copes’ departure was the result of his retirement, and had been planned for several months to ensure a continuity of duties and responsibilities among Rivian’s leadership team.
Copes started at Rivian as COO in March 2020, and officially left the company in December 2021 according to an update to his LinkedIn profile.
Shares of Rivian (RIVN) dropped by nearly 4% in after-hours trading following the announcement, first reported by the Wall Street Journal.
The company’s stock price has been on a downward trend as of late, dropping more than 50% from its all-time high since going public last year.
