Rivian, a manufacturer of electric automobiles and sustainable transportation, is giving back $1 million in grant money it was to receive for investing in a plant in Normal.
Founder and CEO RJ Scaringe said he hopes to help the town deal with the economic shutdown resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The impact of COVID-19 has reminded us all of the importance of community,” Scaringe told the Normal Town Council in a letter quoted in a WGLT report. “The main asset of any community is its people, and as resources stretch thinner for every community across the world, we want to do whatever is possible for a pre-production company in our position to help alleviate pressure on our home. The funds would better serve our community by remaining with the municipality."
RJ Scaringe
| Contributed photo
To get the $1 million town grant, Rivian was required to invest $20 million into its plant by 2022. That has been accomplished, as the company plans to invest over $750 million in its plant over the next 18 months.
In January 2017, Rivian paid $16 million for a factory in Normal that had produced Mitsubishi autos. The electric car maker has made substantial investments in the factory since then, the report said.
In his letter, Scaringe commented on the billions of dollars in investments Rivian has received from companies including Ford, Amazon, Cox Automotive, Black Rock, and T. Rowe Price. The Town of Normal was one of the first investors, promising a $1 million grant and property tax breaks to the startup in 2016 if certain hiring and investment thresholds were met.
Rivian’s 2019 investments at its Normal manufacturing plant would have qualified it for the $1 million this year. Instead, it’s declining the money.
Rivian had 328 employees at its Normal facility, and planned to hire many more as production ramped up. That would have made the company one of McLean County’s largest employers. However, the plant has been mostly shut down since March because of the coronavirus. Production is slowly resuming.
“Around 50 employees serving in construction supervision, basic maintenance, and central engineering will come back to the plant,” a company spokesperson in the WGLT report said. “Only around 10 to 15 employees had been at the plant over the past six weeks.”
All company employees are still being paid regardless of their location.
The company is noted for the production of its all-electric truck the R1T and its four-wheel-drive SUV the R1S.
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