Blog

Sep 07, 2023

Rivian responds to reports of bedbugs at Normal plant

The Rivian plant in Normal is shown. NORMAL — Rivian Automotive is taking action

The Rivian plant in Normal is shown.

NORMAL — Rivian Automotive is taking action after reports of bedbugs in an area of its Normal manufacturing plant, the company confirmed Friday.

Zach Dietmeier, senior manager of plant communication and policy at Rivian, said in an email that the company received reports of bugs on forklifts in one isolated area of the plant.

"These impacted teams have been notified," Dietmeier said in the email. "We investigate every report and take appropriate actions per our pest control contractor."

Bedbugs are tiny pests that can cause itchy bites, but they do not carry disease. They spread easily, but are often difficult and expensive to eliminate.

Don't doze off just yet. Maybe they should be called bed blood bugs, an army of these can attack a person 500 times in one night!

#NationalGeographic #BedBugs #Parasites

About National Geographic:

National Geographic is the world's premium destination for science, exploration, and adventure. Through their world-class scientists, photographers, journalists, and filmmakers, Nat Geo gets you closer to the stories that matter and past the edge of what's possible.

Get More National Geographic:

Official Site: http://bit.ly/NatGeoOfficialSite

Facebook: http://bit.ly/FBNatGeo

Twitter: http://bit.ly/NatGeoTwitter

Instagram: http://bit.ly/NatGeoInsta

See All National Geographic Videos

http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/?source=4001

Bed Bugs | National Geographic

https://youtu.be/WfKCcSPCOQo

National Geographic

https://www.youtube.com/natgeo

Rivian has hired a professional pest control company, Dietmeier said. All forklifts in the affected area have been quarantined and treated, and other forklifts and tuggers will be treated this weekend as a preventative measure, he said.

Additionally, all transportation shuttles have been treated, and all warehouse spaces will be treated by the end of the week, although no bugs have been found in either location, Dietmeier said.

A spokesperson for the McLean County Health Department said it does not investigate bedbug complaints, but would refer such complaints to the appropriate agency; in this case, workplace-related complaints would be directed to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

An OSHA spokesperson from the agency is aware of the concerns.

Posts about the situation circulated on Reddit this week. The Pantagraph was contacted about the situation on Friday by multiple Rivian employees, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of concern for their jobs.

A forklift with its seat covered in plastic is shown in this photo provided by a Rivian employee.

One worker described seeing multiple forklifts parked on Tuesday with signs that said "Bedbugs, Do Not Use," and plastic bags over the seats.

"Nobody really wants to bring bedbugs home," the worker said. "Like, I don't know what would happen if somebody did actually bring bedbugs home with them … I doubt Rivian would pay for fumigation of personal property."

Another worker told The Pantagraph that an employee had reported finding adult bedbugs on a forklift months ago.

This employee also said workers were told earlier this week that the equipment had been treated, but additional checks of the forklifts revealed more of the insects. The worker said it seemed as though managers were more concerned with production than employees’ health.

In an email sent to Rivian workers this week and verified by The Pantagraph, the company encouraged employees to report concerns.

"Because of our preventative measures and our investigations, the facilities are safe and will remain open for production and events," the email said.

"We will continue to investigate reports as they come in," it said. "Please remember that misinformation is harmful and goes against our Code of Conduct."

Rivian Chef Alex Doody cooking on the Rivian RT1 camp kitchen

Bill Croff, Jolene Aldus, Andy Shirk, Nick Leroy, Annie Swanson

Tony Morstatter, Katie Rife, Kim Schoenbein, Sue Seibring, Tracy Patkunas

Leann Seal, Crystal Howard

Jerome and Frances Maddox

Angie Parker, Sara Larsen, Erin Williams, Katie Fudge, Kim Bruninga

Brandy Maloney,Tom Dzurison, Larum Dean, Kris Williams

Dr. Sarah and David Sturgill

Colleen Reynolds, Kathi Franklin

Suzi Nafziger, Melissa Isenburg, Andrea Arduini

Marshall and Brittany Wade, Kirsten and Keith Evans

Craig Queen, Heather Wilcox

Contact Mateusz Janik at (309) 820-3234. Follow Mateusz on Twitter:@mjanik99

Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter.

Government Reporter

Breaking News Reporter

Brendan Denison is our breaking news reporter. Denison was a digital content producer for WCIA-TV in Champaign and a reporter for The Commercial-News in Danville. He can be reached at (309) 820-3238 and [email protected].

A 57-year-old Bloomington woman was killed a Friday morning crash with a semi-truck near Normal's Rivian electric vehicle factory.

Eastern Illinois Foodbank will distribute food to area families facing food insecurity from 9:30-10:30 a.m. Jan. 14 in Normal and Farmer City.

The Bloomington-Normal Community Concert Band will give a free winter concert at 7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 8, at the Bloomington Center for the Pe…

BFD was called at 5:20 p.m. to a fire at 1220 N. Lee St. and arrived on the scene at 5:23 p.m., according to a news release.

The energy company that's planning wind farms across Central Illinois has entered an agreement to help power Rivian Automotive's manufacturing…