Thursday is upon us as we talk about another EV-only carmaker announcing layoffs. We also talk about Ford’s new model year for the F150 Lightning, as well as a potential standard-setter for employee AI training.
Show Notes with links:
It seems Tesla isn’t the only non-Dealership model EV maker laying off staff as Rivian is making its second round of job cuts this year, impacting about 150 support and back-office roles to align with market demands.
This decision follows a 10% reduction in salaried staff earlier, targeting product and commercial EV teams, as the company faces high interest rates and production scaling issues.
Rivian aims to achieve gross margin positivity by year-end, despite current economic headwinds and reduced consumer demand for EVs.
In an emailed statement, Rivian said, ““We continue to work to right-size the business and ensure alignment to our priorities. This was a difficult decision, but a necessary one to support our goal to be gross margin positive by the end of the year.”
Earlier this week, Tesla’s Elon Musk said on Twitter that laying off 10% of their staff was an action that needs to be done every five years or so to align the company for the next stage of growth
As the model year cycle ticks another year forward, Ford is opening online orders for the 2024 model of the F150 Lightning, featuring new tech enhancements and reduced pricing.
Following a temporary stop-ship for quality checks Ford has shipments of the 2024 F-150 Lightning from its Rouge Electric Vehicle facility
The starting
The electric pickup starts at just over $54k for its Pro model and has also seen price reductions up to $5,500 on select trims, with the new Flash trim now starting at $67,995 featuring the highest range available at 320 miles
Enhanced features include convenience features like a charging display that estimates time to finish, a Vapor Heat Pump System for improved efficiency, and expanded access to Tesla’s Supercharger network.
IKEA is potentially setting a new benchmark in employee development with a comprehensive AI literacy initiative aimed at equipping its workforce with essential skills to navigate the evolving AI landscape.
IKEA has launched AI literacy training targeting 3,000 co-workers and 500 leaders to foster a deep understanding of artificial intelligence within the organization.
The training includes courses like AI Fundamentals and specialized programs on Generative AI and Responsible AI and Algorithmic Training for Ethics.
IKEA introduces 'Hej Copilot', an AI tool developed with Microsoft, enhancing productivity by assisting employees with various tasks.
"Our vision is clear. It’s about enhancing the capabilities of co-workers through technology," states Parag Parekh, chief digital officer at IKEA Retail
Hey it's Thursday already April 18 We're back in the studio so we're not gonna have a camera fall over like it did yesterday. If you missed it go check it out. Today we're talking about more Evie layoffs do evey bottle years and mandatory AI training. People really want no sounder that they stopped AI training.
Kyle Mountsier:
There's like this weird thing that I feel like is happening in the AI world where it's like, there's still a good amount of companies talking about it, then there's like a whole other subset that is like that was so last year, which is very metal versity, but it's not as metal versity. And that's a
Paul J Daly:
great point, like Metaverse see, because the people who are in deploying and using it feel like it's just kind of faded off. But I think what's happened is the hype around it has subsided, and the actual use of it has potentially increased as opposed to your adverse even cryptocurrency, right, like, more, like there's people buying it and trading it. But there are a few functional uses of blockchain, you know, in the public eye. So, yeah, that's a really great, you know, use functional
Kyle Mountsier:
use of AI is still extremely broad, even though the hype is a little bit less than the news. Yeah.
Paul J Daly:
Last night. Last night, you and I were using coming back from Atlanta, you know, separately, but flying home from the Atlanta airport, you sent me a text, I never responded to it. But it was you asked Jake, Chet GPT, who's Kyle Mountsier. And it gave you a full like a full in depth description. And it reminded me I never told you that last week, I was on LinkedIn. And you know how you can click like the little questions underneath. Yeah. I never knew what they did. And Nathan was in my office. And I was like, I don't know what that does is it doesn't respond that. But actually, that's an AI generated answer to those questions under the post. Did you know that? Yeah, yeah, I had tried it out. It's pretty well, one of those was, who was Paul J. Daly? And I was like, what does it respond that in the comments, and I clicked it, and it gave me this whole summary of, you know, very similar to that, and what
Kyle Mountsier:
I realized there Microsoft company, so basically, what happened, and this is wild is basically it like it froze there for a second it was like, Let me think. And then and then it brought in the Bing integration, and then cited like seven or eight different Bing articles or like links or things like that. So it was able to, like traverse all of these bring articles and like, bring together this like full profile.
Paul J Daly:
Interesting. i My thought on it was like, well, Microsoft and AI obviously working, I mean, and open AI working very closely together. And Microsoft, obviously getting all the LinkedIn data, which is where you would obviously find the most about you both of us, right? Yeah. And so now it's all part of the system. I don't know it's the AI conversation, but I
Kyle Mountsier:
definitely can't hide now is basically the reality. Definitely. Also,
Paul J Daly:
like I think Ben Hadley posted you know, that Google got caught. I mean, not Google opening I got caught scraping you know, like YouTube 1000s of YouTube videos, right?
Kyle Mountsier:
Which isn't there's not a lawsuit because Google may or may not be doing
Paul J Daly:
that. And it's also violating its own terms of service on like where you can and can't do so like I think from an ethical standpoint, that's an unethical way to train AI but can it be stopped do enough people care? Is it too late? And the question is probably yes. So we got sideways this morning, everybody get to the last episode of cop for AI for Skynet shuts us down we're gonna have a soda caught in just a three week three and a half weeks I think was eight days I think we're 2726 I don't know it's hard to keep kept saying oh my goodness, but the velocity has picked up full on new tickets coming in every day. We're gonna have a I don't know like the way to categorize but a lot of dealers at this event. Maryland auto dealers association is going to be there in force. Their annual meeting is going to be held in conjunction with a two friends at woking are coming in on day one. We have a list of almost 90 speakers who are going to be there go to ASOTU con.com. Check out the speakers get your ticket there's still time for you to get the ticket and make travel plans right it's it's the auto industry right? So within 30 days, so now exists and you can now come and join us and enjoy some of the panelists and the friends and the relationships Best Practices go home and make your dealership that much better. Let's talk about some news.
Kyle Mountsier:
Let's do it. All right, it seems
Paul J Daly:
Tesla isn't the only non dealership model Evie maker, laying off staff as rivian is now making second a second round of job cuts layoffs this year impacting about a one return 50 support and back office roles, say they're saying aligns more with market demand. So this decision fall, which equates to about another 1% of their workforce as follows a 10% reduction of salaried staff earlier in the year targeting product and commercial EV teams. You know, they're trying to get to gross margin positivity by year and despite the fall off and Evie demand and an emailed statement review and said we continue to work to right size the business to ensure alignment to our priorities. This was a difficult decision, but a necessary one to support our goal to be gross margin positive by the end of the year. If you remember early last week, Tesla announced a 10% workforce layoff Elon Musk responded to that, by the way on Twitter. And he said, laying off 10% of their staff is basically an action that needs to be taken every five years. And if you look historically, this holds true. He says out this holds true like when you read the book, you understand how he thinks laying off 10% of the staff to as a realignment mechanism to focus on the future growth initiatives of the company. And
Kyle Mountsier:
that's wild. That's a totally different way than than Vivian's looking at it to be very clear. I play really wild from so this is my this is the interesting thing for me, right? A couple years ago, even last year, all of these Evie companies were not getting measured. They were getting measured on hype. It was definitely a voting machine. It was not a weighing machine on margin. And they are quickly being transitioned to like, nope, time to get profitable time to be a real company. It was probably that I'm sure some of these early early stage AV companies are kind of feeling the whiplash of like, Wait a second. Weren't you evaluating us like a like a more like a startup? And you now now we got to be grown up this year? You know? Yeah, it's why
Paul J Daly:
not? It's a great point. It's a great point. So I mean, it's easy to look at Tesla as kind of the whipping boy. But when you kind of look at some of the stuff you realize it's not, it's not just Tesla. But here's I think this is a bright spot right here. Speaking of bright spots in the Eevee world. Yes, and as the model year cycle rounds, another tick getting into 2020 fours, Ford is opening online orders for the 2024 model of the F 150. Lightning, it's featuring new tech enhance enhancements, some reduced pricing, so they had a little bit of a stop ship for quality checks. But now, like the shipments and the orders are back open, and it's cool to see like the second model year iteration to this roll around. The electric pickup now is still starting at 54,000, which was the starting price of the Pro model last year, they did add a new trim this year, which is called what is it called hash flash. lightning flash. By the way, I was on a plane last night and a lightning flash was like right next to the plane, it was scary. I don't even know what the new flash trim is now starting at 60 799 95, of course is very current price. And it does feature the highest range available in the F 150. Lightning, which is 320 miles. So like 67,000. Last year, a similar trend was like 75,000. So prices are definitely backing out. Some of the enhanced features this year are going to be a new charging display that has a very useful piece of information like how many minutes estimated until your car's back. Right? It's taken that long to get back. That seems like a no course. First step most important thing I want to know how much longer do I have to sit here? Also, there's a new vapor heat pump system they're saying is going to increase efficiency, especially in cold weather climates, as well as we know, access
Kyle Mountsier:
to the test. Everybody's gone. Yes, yep.
Paul J Daly:
So I like it. I feel like this is a win for this
Kyle Mountsier:
is a winning win. And going back to my previous point of like Evie companies having to get to profitability and get to scale quicker. It's like, hey, you know, I don't know, if it's like a, if it's possible here to, you know, be profitable at these numbers. But I can guarantee it's going to provide impetus to getting to scale quicker, right, as they open up online orders again, as they start shipping these things they it was, you know, they they had, they hadn't shipped any lightnings for a couple of months now because of some issues on delivery stuff. And so they're shipping those again this week. You know, the Lightning has already been pretty broadly adopted, because it has the towing capacity you need it has some of the range things you need. So this is just another kind of tick and like, hey, look, and we can be at a price point that is more affordable for a broader range of buyers. You know, Ford has always kind of been you know, and due to Jim Farley kind of being out front has been out front in the conversation, but it seems like they're making moves to stay in front on the margin and the the growth side of things as well. Yeah, that's right.
Paul J Daly:
Speaking of the growth side of things, segue, rolling your people growing their skill sets here on their way it
Kyle Mountsier:
makes so much sense. It's so good IKEA is potentially sending In a brand new benchmark and employee development with a comprehensive AI literacy initiative aimed at equipping its workforce with essential skills to navigate the evolving AI landscape. So this AI literacy training is targeting 3000 co workers and 500 leaders across the organization, just really to get a deep understanding of AI within the organization. So it's not particularly like a training on how to use it's a better understanding of the actual function. The form of AI in includes courses like aI funds fundamentals on specialized programs like generative AI, responsible AI algorithmic training for ethics. And they are introducing a thing called Hey, co pilot and an AI tool developed with Microsoft, which enhances the productivity by assisting employees with various tasks. Their chief digital officer, Parag Perec, said, our vision is clear. It's about enhancing the capabilities of co workers through our technology. So training, efficiency, look,
Paul J Daly:
AI, IKEA, it was a where's the book? Where's the book? Here? It
Kyle Mountsier:
is all I know, innovation stack? Yeah. So
Paul J Daly:
IQ is one of the stories of the companies featured in the innovation stack by Jim McKelvey. We had him in our first ASOTU CON book that has influenced our thinking quite a bit talked about the way the company had this mentality of like, so we had to meaning like, the environment is this, the conditions are this so we had to do this, to build their tech stack internally, I think this is very on brand and just aligned with how IKEA thinks about innovation. And, you know, they see this AI opportunity as like, let's not ignore it, actually, let's teach our people how to lean into it and leverage it, knowing that that's going to lead to faster innovation, much more operational efficiency. And so yeah, I think I want to see more of this in the auto space. Because I, I mean, it's like every week, you know, we were in a dealership, or we're talking to somebody in automotive, and they, they tell us about something they're doing, like a task, or a duty, or whatever it is. And we're like, you know,
Unknown:
there's a really much easier way to do this. There is,
Kyle Mountsier:
and I also hear this, it's like, Hey, we got this new program with AI. And like, the reality is, is that the frontline employee, maybe that hasn't been paying attention to the market, that's only been kind of seeing the stuff on chat GPT out there may not understand how that's actually impacting their job, the functionality and how that AI is trained. And so it's just some simple education about like, what is AI? What is it actually doing? How is it actually trained? What are we getting out of it? Right, which will then allow you to be more efficient in your use of it and day to day. So I think like, people should be creating evey training and AI training right now in their dealerships at a basic level, not even just like, the product specific things that they're doing. Absolutely.
Unknown:
There you go.
Paul J Daly:
We hope you have a great Thursday, thinking about how you can be better investing in your people paying attention to what's going on in the industry. Most importantly, pay attention to the consumer because they're always going to tell you what they want one way or another. We'll see you tomorrow.