Rivian To Get $1.5 Billion In Public Incentives For Georgia Plant

Electric vehicle startup Rivian Automotive will receive a total of $1.5 billion in state and local incentives and tax credits for the new EV plant it plans to build in Georgia, according to documents the company and state signed on May 2.

This is by far the biggest incentive package Georgia has ever offered to a company, with Georgia Economic Development Commissioner Pat Wilson describing the size of the package as being “appropriate” for the largest single industrial announcement in Georgia history.

The automaker and Georgia’s Department of Economic Development noted that the $5 billion plant is expected to employ some 7,500 people by 2028. The average annual salary will be $56,000 and all employees will also receive equity in Rivian.

The two parties also estimate that the new plant will create 7,978 additional indirect jobs. Together, these 15,478 jobs are expected to generate over $1billion in labor income annually.

The Economic Development Agreement (EDA) between the Joint Development Authority (JDA) of Jasper, Morgan, Newton, and Walton counties, the State of Georgia and Rivian was approved and signed by all parties on May 2, marking a milestone in the automaker’s progress towards the development of its second US manufacturing plant.

In a short statement, the company said that the “long-term economic partnership promises to deliver value to Rivian, the people of Georgia and their kids’ kids’ kids.

In addition, Rivian released the site plan of the future campus as well as an exterior rendering of the front of the plant building. The rendering also shows planned green spaces filled with native plants. Actually, Rivian promises that over 50% of the site’s acreage will remain unpaved when the plant reaches maximum production capacity.

The automaker, which also operates a plant in Normal, Illinois, where some 5,000 people build Rivian R1T electric pickups, R1S electric SUVs, and electric vans for Amazon, expects to break ground at the new site as early as this summer. The EV maker also forecasts that production will start in 2024 at its Georgia plant.

The project has seen some opposition from residents east of Atlanta who say that the factory will spoil their rural quality of life. However, the press statement from Georgia state leaders notes that the agreement with Rivian “ensures that the project follows locally required standards pertaining to water quality, groundwater recharge and runoff, and local ordinances.

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