Rivian Will Move All Of Its Operations To California - UPDATE

Currently, Rivian has facilities in Plymouth, MI, San José, and Irvine, CA.
Rivian has leased some huge square footage in Irvine.
Michigan will still play an important role in Rivian’s future the company says

UPDATE – Yesterday, we reported in the story below that Rivian looked to be moving all of its operations to California where much of its staff is already located. The source of the story was off slightly as only a small portion of it 2,300-strong employees, engineering teams mostly, will be consolidated in one location.

Amy Mast, Public Relations Director at Rivian, sent us the following statement: “Of Rivian’s 2,300 employees, approximately 1,000 are based in California and 750 in Michigan, and we are consolidating some engineering teams to our locations in California to improve workflows and reduce environmental impact from travel. We’ve recently completed an expansion at our Michigan location and it will remain an important presence for us. We are also committed to creating a vibrant and inviting manufacturing presence in Normal, Illinois, where all Rivian vehicles will be produced. As we grow, we’ll keep evaluating and evolving our footprint and geography.”

Rivian is one of the most exciting EV start-up companies since Tesla. In fact, by some accounts, Rivian is three to four times ahead of Tesla development-wise at the same point in its history. In order to capitalize on this, Rivian founder and Chief Executive RJ Scaringe, wants to bring his entire team together in Irvine, California.

This past January, Rivian invested nearly $30 million in its future Normal, Illinois plant, after purchasing the plant for $16 million in 2017. But now, it seems as though they’ve signed a pair of leases for more than 250,000 square feet in Orange County.

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Understandably, not all Rivian employees were happy about this decision, but it now appears that Michigan will remain an important part of the Rivian story. Some employees reported that they were essentially told by management that there work and presence in the area is being “broomed out the door.”