Rivian Pushes Truck Launch to 2021 Amid Covid-19

Rivian, the electric truck startup looking to bring vehicle manufacturing back to downstate Normal, Illinois, will have to wait until next year to begin production. The automaker’s an electric truck and SUV were set to debut later this year, but the project has been put on pause amid the coronavirus outbreak. 

The temporary shutdown of the facility has delayed construction at the plant, and the launch date, which will now be 2021. 

According to the Chicago Tribune, while Detroit’s Big Three automakers have shut down vehicle production and begun gearing up to make ventilators instead, Rivian is sidelined, and most of its 300 workers idled. 

Rivian anticipated hiring thousands of employees for the Normal plant, but only a “skeleton maintenance crew” remains after workers were sent home during the statewide Covid-19 shutdown. 

“There are 11 Rivian employees there in 2.6 million square feet,” said Rivian spokeswoman Amy Mast. 

About 60 contractors are also in the building, keeping their distance while doing electrical work.

Source: The Chicago Tribune