Before there was Hyundai’s massive Metaplant in southeast Georgia, Rivian was Gov. Brian Kemp’s signature economic development project.
Now the fate of the $5 billion factory is up in the air — along with Georgia’s reputation as an electric vehicle hub.
Georgia has prided itself on being the tip of the spear for a green energy transformation, attracting tens of billions of dollars in investment that’s created thousands of jobs.
But Kemp has long warned the green jobs boom window for Georgia is narrowing, and Rivian’s announcement that it’s indefinitely halting its mammoth electric vehicle project in Georgia and shifting production of new crossover EVs that would have happened here to Illinois highlighted the industry’s greater struggles.
A slowdown in demand for electric vehicles, increased competition from manufacturers and high interest rates have combined to undercut the once-booming sector.
It’s also a political problem for Kemp, who didn’t immediately comment, and other state leaders who championed the Rivian factory despite staunch grassroots opposition from neighbors of the sprawling northeast Georgia site where the plant would have been built.
Atlanta Journal Constitution
