Rivian employees accuse EV maker of safety violation at Illinois factory
- Workers at Rivian alleged the company ignored known hazards and deprioritised safety resources.
At least a dozen employees at Rivian Automotive Inc. have accused the electric-vehicle maker of safety violations at its Illinois plant, according to complaints filed with federal regulators.
The complaints allege the company ignored known hazards and deprioritized safety resources, leaving some workers to share respirators needed during the manufacturing process. They also detail a range of injuries, including a crushed hand, a broken foot, a sliced ear and broken ribs. One Rivian employee said management fished damaged electrical cables out of the garbage and told employees to use them.
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Together, the filings depict an automaker that cut corners as it scaled rapidly to keep pace in the competitive electric-vehicle space. Some employees described safety protocols that faded as production pressures grew on its trademark plug-in pickup truck.
“There’s a certain level of danger involved in manufacturing," Don Jackson, one of the employees who filed a complaint, said in an interview. “But I was expecting safety to be a little more prioritized."
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In statements to Bloomberg News, a Rivian spokesperson disputed workers’ allegations but declined to comment on specific complaints, citing employee privacy. The spokesperson said the complaints represent a tiny portion of the 6,700 employees at the plant.
“Creating a safe and inspiring environment is a daily practice we expect of every Rivian employee and is part of our operating procedures," the company said in an emailed statement, adding: “We are not aware of any manager directing employees to share respirators."
At least a dozen employees at Rivian Automotive Inc. have accused the electric-vehicle maker of safety violations at its Illinois plant, according to complaints filed with federal regulators.
The complaints allege the company ignored known hazards and deprioritized safety resources, leaving some workers to share respirators needed during the manufacturing process. They also detail a range of injuries, including a crushed hand, a broken foot, a sliced ear and broken ribs. One Rivian employee said management fished damaged electrical cables out of the garbage and told employees to use them.
Together, the filings depict an automaker that cut corners as it scaled rapidly to keep pace in the competitive electric-vehicle space. Some employees described safety protocols that faded as production pressures grew on its trademark plug-in pickup truck.
“There’s a certain level of danger involved in manufacturing," Don Jackson, one of the employees who filed a complaint, said in an interview. “But I was expecting safety to be a little more prioritized."
Also Read : EV recall costs Tesla challenger shares to drop sharply amid production concerns
In statements to Bloomberg News, a Rivian spokesperson disputed workers’ allegations but declined to comment on specific complaints, citing employee privacy. The spokesperson said the complaints represent a tiny portion of the 6,700 employees at the plant.
“Creating a safe and inspiring environment is a daily practice we expect of every Rivian employee and is part of our operating procedures," the company said in an emailed statement, adding: “We are not aware of any manager directing employees to share respirators."
‘Like Talking to a Wall’
Some workers said they had notified management about their concerns before filing complaints with federal regulators. Jackson wrote that he had raised safety concerns with numerous supervisors, but they went unheard. “It’s like talking to a wall," he said in the interview.
One employee, Heather Barschdorf, wrote directly to Rivian Chief Executive Officer RJ Scaringe with worries that hazards in her work area could affect her pregnancy.
“The fumes in my area make us sick some days even without being pregnant," she wrote in the Sept. 23 email to Scaringe, which was viewed by Bloomberg News. Her email said she had experienced miscarriage in the past and was at very high risk for another one.
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“Many people in my area have become sick with flu like symptoms from exposure to the galvanized metal parts we are welding," Barschdorf later wrote in an OSHA complaint filed Sept. 30. “I have asked for accommodation as a pregnant person including ventilation for paint fumes and respiratory protection numerous times and have been denied." Her filing said she was given a dust mask in lieu of the proper kind of respirator.
Scaringe never replied to her email, she said, though a human resources representative referenced it in a later meeting with Barschdorf. The company did not act on her repeated requests to be moved to a different section of the factory, she said in an interview. “Rivian’s not listening to us," she said.
Two weeks after filing her OSHA complaint, Barschdorf suffered a miscarriage. In November, she resigned from the company.
Asked about Barschdorf’s account, a Rivian spokesperson wrote, “There is no evidence that anything in the work environment caused or contributed to a personal miscarriage" for any staff at the plant.
“We do not comment on open agency cases nor on any situation that has any potential pending litigation," the spokesperson added. “We value employee feedback and hear employee concerns, and we take appropriate action for each situation."
Rivian has spent millions of dollars on safety and has a team of more than 70 safety, health and environmental professionals, a spokesperson said, adding that the company conducts routine trainings and inspections.
In February, a battery-pack explosion caused a fire with 10-foot-high flames, according to the complaint from Harvey. “I witnessed a person pull the fire alarm and nothing happened," she wrote. After evacuating, employees were told to walk back through the smoke for a head count. “People were coughing and at least one worker had an asthma attack while walking through the smoke," she wrote, adding that since the fire “no drills or follow-up training have been held" for her shift about where to go in similar situations.
Rivian said that after that fire it developed a “comprehensive thermal event response plan." The company spent $70,000 to acquire a sophisticated gas measurement device from Finland that could be used to assess air quality indoors after fires, a spokesperson said.
