Rivian to build $5B plant in Georgia

ATLANTA – Electric vehicle maker Rivian Automotive will announce Thursday that it's building a $5 billion battery and assembly plant east of Atlanta that's projected to employ 7,500 workers, sources briefed on the decision told The Associated Press.

Rivian, based in Irvine, California, is a startup manufacturer of electric trucks and commercial delivery vans, challenging established automakers like Ford and General Motors and electric vehicle leader Tesla.

The plant could grow to as many as 10,000 workers, sources said, which would make it among the largest auto assembly complexes in the United States, rivaled by behemoths such as the 11,000-worker BMW complex in Spartanburg, South Carolina, and Ford Motor Co.'s 8,600-worker plant in Louisville, Kentucky.

Rivian will be the largest industrial announcement in Georgia history, surpassing the 4,400-worker Kia complex that opened in West Point in 2009. Georgia has had a number of failed auto plant recruitments. Rivian will give Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp another point to bolster his claims that he has been an excellent steward of Georgia's economy, even as faces Republican and Democratic challengers when he runs for reelection next year.

Fort Worth, Texas, offered Rivian a $440 million incentive package to lure the plant, while published reports indicate Rivian also considered sites in Arizona and Michigan.

Rivian told Fort Worth its plant would make 200,000 vehicles per year, with workers paid at least $56,000 a year.

Founder and CEO Robert Scaringe told Bloomberg Television in November that the ability to recruit good workers was the most important factor in the decision. Rivian's existing plant in Normal, Illinois, like most auto plants that have opened in recent decades, is not unionized.

Georgia officials are unlikely to detail the full incentive package offered to Rivian on Thursday, but the company could max out what Georgia calls its “mega project tax credit,” for companies that hire at least 1,800 people or invest at least $450 million. That could be worth $118 million in state income tax credits. Local governments are likely to abate property taxes.