Rivian is building a massive factory in Georgia, and the state announced Monday that it's handing over $1.5 billion in incentives to make that happen. The package is the biggest in state history, according to Bloomberg.
Rivian had to make some promises to get the package, which includes tax credits and subsidies. The company needs to hire 7,500 people, each of which earning an average annual salary of $56,000, by the end of 2028.
Rivian is investing $5 billion in the 2,000-acre "carbon-conscious" campus, planned for near the I-20 corridor east of Atlanta. The incentives package includes both tax credits and subsidies, with state and local incentives coming to a total of $1.28 billion and nearly $200 million in site and road improvements additionally. The company expects to start construction this year, with plans to begin production in 2024.
Rivian first announced its plans for the site in December. The factory will include a co-located battery cell production facility and have a target of producing 400,000 vehicles a year, double the capacity of its facility in Normal, Ill. That will go a long way toward helping Rivian ramp up production of its electric truck and SUV, which have been difficult to produce given the supply chain shortages that are rattling the entire EV industry. Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe recently predicted that the supply of EV batteries would become a huge issue in years to come — even bigger than the ongoing chip crunch.
The company said in its 2021 shareholder letter that it chose Georgia for the site due to factors like "sustainable business operations, talent pool, and proximity to supply chain and logistics" — though more than billion dollars in incentives certainly sweetens the pot.
According to Bloomberg, the state of Georgia will rake in about $330 million in tax revenue from Rivian.
Climate TRACE's data show emissions at the facility-level.Image: Climate TRACE