Rivian Suspends $5B Plant Project Near Atlanta

Electric vehicle manufacturer Rivian has put on hold the development of its $5 billion, 16 million-square-foot plant in Stanton Springs, Ga., according to Forbes, in an effort to cut costs. This move will save the company nearly $2.3 billion in capital expenditures, Bloomberg reported.

The project was set to take shape some 40 miles from Atlanta, on an 1,800-acre site located in the Morgan and Walton counties. The development team included Jacobs Inc. as engineer of record and Skidmore, Owings & Merrill the design architect. In late December, Rivian selected Clayco to construct the plant and the formal groundbreaking ceremony was set to early 2024.

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The California-based company first announced the project, considered at the time the largest industrial plant to be developed in Georgia, in 2021. The following year, Rivian secured a $1.5 billion package of state and local incentives, the biggest in the state’s history. In November 2023, The Joint Development Authority of Jasper, Morgan, Newton and Walton counties approved the resolutions to finalize the 50-year lease agreement, effectively kickstarting the construction phase.

Initial plans included the production of 400,000 electric vehicles per year and the employment of 7,500 workers. The production phase was expected to start in 2026, with the full buildout ready by 2030. Due to the current halt of development at the Georgia factory, Rivian plans to assemble the new EV models at its existing plant in Illinois.

EV manufacturing, still on the move

Meanwhile, several other similar projects have been advancing in the last few months. In November, Toyota made an $8 billion investment at its North Carolina EV battery manufacturing plant. This consolidated the company’s presence in the region, as the total investment amounted to $14 billion.

And, last month, Ascend Elements raised an additional $163 million in equity investments that will accelerate the development of a Kentucky manufacturing plant, valued at $1 billion. Similarly, Hankook Tire is continuing the 2.2 million-square-foot expansion at its plant in Clarksville, Tenn., tapping Clayco as general contractor for the $1.6 billion project.