Rivian’s mission is to keep the world adventurous forever but how much longer can their dangerous factory sustain?

This past September, the 2024 Rivian R1T made lots of noise in the auto industry when it was announced as the only fully electric pickup truck to receive the prestigious Top Safety Pick+ award from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). This award recognizes the R1T as one of the safest vehicles on the road, and no other pickup truck made the 2024 top safety list. But the vehicles top safety ratings come with a price as the Electric vehicle manufacturer plant in Normal Illinois has somehow amassed 16 serious OSHA Violations between January 1, 2023 and October 1, 2024.

Despite the fact that Rivian has just one factory in the Continental U.S., it has racked up more “serious” safety violations than any other automaker since the start of 2023 (see graph below). Workers at the plant say there are plenty of smaller yet still concerning incidents that do not make it onto government reports as well, too.

Many employees of the plant have reported injuries that include broken bones, amputations, cracked skulls, and lacerations to various exposed parts of the body. One of the more severe injuries that was reported to OSHA occurred when a worker was required to paint vehicles without proper protection and after weeks of exposure to the vehicle paint, she experienced severe symptoms, including vomiting, diarrhea, and dizziness. Only after the worker vomited what her co-workers considered to be “Rivian blue” bile ware she and other workers offered respirators for protection.

The most basic Rivian vehicle starts at around $75,000 while most average around $100,000 for a newer model.  Last year, the company admitted it loses around $32,5000 on every vehicle made. Rivian’s factory employs around 7,400 workers in Normal and is one of the city’s largest employers with many multi-generational family members working at the same plant. The company says it has already invested more than $2 billion dollars into the city of Normal, however, it has struggled to invest in safety equipment and to put in place proper safety procedures and training for its employees.

Working at an auto manufacturing facility can sometimes be dangerous work. Certain dangers can sometimes be unavoidable, but, other times, injuries happen that are preventable. If you have been injured on the job, you may have certain rights related to your injury. The experienced auto industry accident attorneys at Katz, Friedman, Eisenstein, Johnson, Bareck & Bertuca have been helping people injured at auto plants and in other workplace incidents for many years. To set up a free case evaluation, contact us at 312-724-5846 or contact us online.