The $5 billion factory automaker Rivian has planned to build since late 2021 in rural east Georgia was expected to bring thousands of jobs and seismic change to a part of the state known more for farms and pine forests than electric vehicles.
Now, those plans — and the fate of the roughly 2,000-acre site state and local development authorities assembled for the project — are in limbo.
Rivian had said it would start vertical construction early this year on its Georgia facility, with production beginning in 2026. But during an event Thursday unveiling three new EV models, Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe surprised Georgia’s business and political world with his announcement that Rivian would pump the brakes on plans to build its next factory 50 miles east of Atlanta. For now, the company is instead concentrating production at its existing Illinois factory, a decision Rivian said will save $2.2 billion.
Credit: TNS
Credit: TNS
In a column penned after the announcement for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Scaringe said Rivian is “absolutely dedicated to bringing our Georgia plant to life with good jobs, economic development, and a product to be proud of.”
“I want to be absolutely clear we remain committed to building our future in Georgia,” Scaringe wrote. “This shift in launch cadence puts us in a stronger position prior to launching our Georgia plant.”
While the uncertainty around the project has raised questions about what happens to the site in the near-term, local leaders are confident that significant growth is still likely in the area, with or without Rivian in the driver’s seat.
Grading of the Rivian site, paid for by taxpayers as part of the $1.5 billion package of incentives granted to the company, is complete and the land is ready for vertical construction.
Rivian took control of the project site last fall and has to meet certain criteria to receive its state and local incentives. Rivian’s economic development agreement requires the company to collectively meet 80% of its promised $5 billion investment and 7,500 jobs by the end of 2030 and maintain those metrics through 2049. Otherwise, they’d be subject to clawback measures.
As part of its agreement, Rivian will also continue to pay the JDA what is called a PILOT payment as a supplement for its property tax bill. Rivian is up to date on those payments, with $3 million exchanged so far.
When asked whether the site could be returned to the state before 2031 if Rivian decides to never build, the Georgia Department of Economic Development and a local joint development authority (JDA) said contract terms are currently being reviewed.
Even as it hits pause, Rivian is required to maintain the property, including to manage runoff and comply with environmental laws, as part of its lease.
In his AJC column, Scaringe pledged that the company “will care for the site in the run-up to construction with the goal of minimizing inconveniences this delay may cause.”
But sediment contamination from the site after rain events have already been a recurring problem for some residents who live nearby, like Eddie Clay, a truck driver who lives 500 feet from a portion of the site.
Clay, who along with other neighbors is a plaintiff in an ongoing legal battle challenging zoning and permitting for the site, relies on groundwater from a well. He says his water filters and swimming pool have been repeatedly choked by sediment from the site.
Clay said he welcomes the news of Rivian’s pause, but that does little to solve his water problems.
“We have no other source of water,” he said.
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
Asked what the company plans to do to mitigate those issues, a Rivian spokesperson reiterated that it will maintain the site.
As Rivian presses pause, several infrastructure projects to support the factory, including a freeway interchange and road widening, are still moving forward. So, too, are plans that were set in motion to meet Rivian’s water needs.
The EV factory was set to be served by a new, state-of-the-art wastewater reclamation facility being built in Newton County, part of the four-county alliance that wooed the company to the area. The new water treatment plant is being funded by more than $100 million in federal grants.
Mike Hopkins, the executive director of the Newton County Water and Sewerage Authority, said even if the Rivian factory doesn’t materialize, the facility is “off and running and constructing” to support future growth along the I-20 corridor.
Rivian has pledged to employ 7,500 at its Georgia factory and some workforce training initiatives — like apprenticeship programs with technical colleges in the state — had already launched. The company did not directly respond to a question about the fate of those programs.
A new Georgia Quick Start facility that was planned to be built to train factory workers will not break ground until construction begins on the manufacturing facility itself, according to a spokesperson for the Joint Development Authority of Jasper, Morgan, Newton & Walton counties.
Ed Latham, a city councilman in Madison, the county seat of Morgan County, has supported the Rivian project, saying the area needs more opportunities for young people. Latham’s five children went through Morgan County’s schools, but none decided to stay home after completing their education.
He is holding out hope that Rivian’s project will come to fruition, but if not, he is confident the area can attract other economic developments.
“I think the site will be utilized in a different way (if Rivian does not come),” he said. “But I still think and hope that we do move forward.”
A note of disclosure
Cox Enterprises, owner of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, owns about a 4% stake in Rivian.
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