Normal Council Approves Key Elements of Rivian Expansion wglt.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from wglt.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Rivian plant in downstate Normal gears up for June launch chicagotribune.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from chicagotribune.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Area in red shows planned expansion of Rivan s plant that is seen to the right across Rivian Motorway.
Neighbors of the Rivian plant in Normal are concerned a proposed expansion could threaten the area’s rural tranquility.
The electric automaker has plans to expand onto a 380-acre parcel of land on the west side of Rivian Motorway, across the road from the existing plant. The parcel is currently zoned agricultural and would be reclassified as manufacturing if approved by the Town of Normal.
In a virtual meeting of the Normal Planning Commission on Wednesday, Rivan s communications director, Zach Dietmeier, said Rivian has preliminary plans to use the land for light manufacturing along with logistics and warehousing.
Rivian
Rivian continues to ramp up hiring as the start of production approaches in June. The electric vehicle maker will begin manufacturing vans, trucks, and SUVs over the summer and early autumn.
Current employment at the facility in Normal is about 890, according to plant Communications Director Zach Dietmeier. Dietmeier said another 200 will come on board in the next few weeks.
“So heavy onboarding and training going on at this time for team members at the facility: technicians, line workers, you name it, we’re covering it. And as that continues toward June, we’re looking at probably 1,100 to 1,200 in the next month or so. And by the end of this ramp up into early next year the final numbers are probably somewhere in the nature of 2,700 manufacturing employees on site,” said Dietmeier.