Some Republicans consider punishing company for pausing work on factory

Gov. Brian Kemp, though unhappy with Rivian’s decision to pause construction on its Georgia electric vehicle factory, said he and the automaker remain committed to the $5 billion project.

Rivian has vowed to hire 7,500 workers by 2030 to work at the plant proposed for a site an hour east of Atlanta in Morgan and Walton counties, and it has said it still stands by those job and investment promises. If the company doesn’t meet 80% of those goals by the end of that year, it will face penalties laid out in its agreement with the state.

If it succeeds, the automaker is set to receive a package of state and local inducements valued at $1.5 billion.

Some of that money has already been spent. The state has paid for land and site prep with several road projects also underway.

Rivian announced earlier this month that it is putting on hold the start of construction of its factory. It opted, instead, to start production of its R2 crossover at its existing factory in Illinois in 2026, the year the Georgia plant had been set to open. The move is expected to save the company $2.2 billion in the near term.

But Rivian CEO R.J. Scaringe said the Georgia factory remains key to the company’s growth plans.

Some Georgia lawmakers, however, remain frustrated, including Republicans who expressed interest in potentially punishing the company. For example, they urged a halt to infrastructure projects in the area until Rivian makes good on its promises.

Kemp said he understands lawmakers’ concerns. But he said Georgia does not want to signal it would renege on the commitments it made and that the state is “in a good place” with its contract with Rivian.

The state’s top jobs recruiter said that if Rivian did back out, Georgia could easily find another project for the construction-ready factory site, which is far more valuable now than when the automaker and state struck their deal in December 2021.