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Much of the news about electric vehicles tends to be about the vehicles themselves, but there’s very little about the people who make them. However, a couple of days ago, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker shared many details and comments about investing in innovation and jobs, with specific information about Rivian.
What jumped out the most is the fact that Rivian’s work has created many, many jobs. “Illinois has continued supporting the advancement of Rivian to cultivate long-term growth and further strengthen the state’s EV manufacturing ecosystem. In 2024, Governor Pritzker joined Rivian to announce a historic $1.5 billion investment from the company to build its R2 model at its Normal facility and create more than 550 full-time jobs. Then, in 2025, Governor Pritzker and Rivian announced the construction of a new 1.2 million-square-foot supplier park across the highway from the manufacturing plant, a $120 million investment from Rivian, which enabled the company to create nearly 100 new direct jobs.”
The total Rivian employee headcount is about 14,000 — but they don’t all live and work in Illinois.
Buying an EV also supports the expansion of public EV charging infrastructure, because EVs need to be charged in public sometimes and there is a growing demand for public chargers. Many people work on EV charger installation, others help to manufacture chargers, and still others have jobs supporting their supply chains.
