| Thanks for reading Hyperdrive, Bloomberg's newsletter on the future of the auto world. Read today's featured story in full online here. A cracked skull. A foot fracture. A back laceration so severe it required surgery. An amputated finger. These are among the injuries suffered by workers at Rivian, which has only one factory yet has racked up more US safety violations initially deemed "serious" than any other automaker since the start of last year. And there are incidents alleged by workers at the plant in Normal, Illinois, that haven't made it into government reports. One former employee interviewed by Bloomberg News said she complained to doctors last year of vomiting bile with a "Rivian blue" hue after painting vehicles without a respirator.  Workers examine an Amazon delivery van body shell at Rivian's plant in Normal, Illinois. Source: Rivian Rivian received initial citations for 16 serious violations in the past 21 months from the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Toyota, Honda, Volvo, Nissan, General Motors and Ford each received no more than 10. Volkswagen, BMW and Subaru saw none. Fellow EV maker Tesla and Stellantis, both with much larger workforces than Rivian, also received fewer initial serious citations. But unlike Rivian, Tesla also got three "repeat" violations, which carry heavier penalties, and Stellantis received two. Rivian says that its record compares favorably with other manufacturers. "The health and safety of everyone at Rivian is our top priority, and we're proud of our strong safety record — which continues to improve year over year," the automaker said in a statement. But government findings and interviews with current and past employees paint a picture of a money-losing company that struggled to put in place the procedures, equipment and training required to keep employees safe. The alleged safety shortfalls come as the company ramps up production of delivery vans for Amazon and $100,000 luxury SUVs popular with celebrities including Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez. They also highlight potential challenges for the US government's goal of accelerating EV output to create good jobs in economically underdeveloped areas and help slow climate change. The volume of complaints, citations and serious injuries at the Rivian plant "are all red flags," said Deborah Berkowitz, a former OSHA chief of staff under President Barack Obama who's now a fellow at the Kalmanovitz Initiative for Labor and the Working Poor at Georgetown University. Rivian says it's devoted to worker safety. Committees regularly review factory processes and recommend changes, and employees can bring concerns to supervisors or report them anonymously, a spokesperson said. The company says its self-reported rate of work-related injuries and illnesses this year has been better than the industry average for light truck manufacturers in 2022, the latest full-year snapshot available. OSHA itself says that since inspections began in late 2021, Rivian "has improved their safety and health team and are very cooperative with the OSHA process." Rivian says that as part of settlements with the agency, almost all of the violations OSHA initially labeled as serious were ultimately downgraded from that category or dismissed. "Initial citations should not be confused as final citations, and to suggest otherwise is incredibly misleading," a Rivian spokesperson said.  Addison Zwanzig. Photographer: Lee Klafczynski/Bloomberg Addison Zwanzig, 20, said she joined Rivian in July 2023, thrilled at the opportunity to get into high-tech manufacturing and earn enough money to move out of the family home and into her own place. She was assigned to the paint room for about $23 an hour plus benefits, spraying vehicles eight hours a day, six days a week. She says her protection consisted of a polyester suit, rubber gloves and plastic goggles. Within weeks, she complained to a line leader of dizziness. Soon, she was also experiencing nausea, vomiting and diarrhea that led to weight loss, frequently having to leave her work station to go to the bathroom. Zwanzig suspected that paint fumes were to blame for her symptoms and asked a supervisor for a respirator after she saw colleagues wearing them. Her request was denied, she said. "They said that that was uncomfortable and hot and that I'd prefer an N95 mask," Zwanzig said in an interview. By September, she'd seen doctors about her symptoms, including what she said was blue-tinged vomit. Rivian provided a respirator for her the next month, she said, and then for other colleagues who weren't previously issued one. She filed a complaint to OSHA about the lack of a respirator, as well as other issues, but it was dismissed after the company said that it "found the allegations to be factually and legally incorrect," according to documents seen by Bloomberg. She is continuing to seek treatment from specialists, and says she has consulted attorneys about whether she might have a legal case to seek compensation from the company. Rivian declined to comment on specific workers' experiences, citing privacy requirements. "We provide all necessary safety equipment, including respirators," the company said in an email.  A Rivian R1T electric pickup at the company's factory in Normal, Illinois. Photographer: Jamie Kelter Davis/Bloomberg The Illinois plant has for several years been a target of the United Auto Workers, which has sought to build a union organizing committee and has helped workers bring complaints to OSHA. The UAW has also been seeking to unionize workers at a dozen other automakers including Tesla, Mercedes, BMW and Nissan. "Rivian sells itself as a cutting-edge car company, but they're dragging workers back to the 19th century," UAW President Shawn Fain said in a statement. Zwanzig, the worker who said paint fumes were sickening her, was eventually transferred from the spray booth to a role wiping down vehicles at the end of the assembly process. There, she says she was asked to climb on top of a vehicle while it was still on the production line to clean more thoroughly. "That was something that in training we were told not to do," said Zwanzig, who says she wasn't involved in the union efforts when she worked at Rivian, though was acquainted with some of the organizers. Zwanzig asked for the request to be put in writing, which she thought would ensure she would qualify for workers' compensation in case of an injury. Instead, she said, a manager backed down and told her she'd be "responsible for the consequences" of poor quality. Her employment was terminated the next month. According to messages Zwanzig shared with Bloomberg News, the company cited a lack of documentation to justify her absences for illness. — By Kiel Porter and Josh Eidelson Chinese automakers could more than double their overseas full-process production capacity to beat punitive import tariffs and meet surging demand in emerging markets, according to BloombergNEF. Exports and knockdown assembly — where key parts of cars are made in China, then shipped overseas for final assembly — have traditionally been Chinese manufacturers' preferred approaches to entering foreign markets. But as jurisdictions including the US, the European Union and Turkey impose tariffs, investments in full-process manufacturing are booming, according to the report. "As the electric vehicle market in China saturates, increasing domestic competition and overcapacity are pushing Chinese EV brands abroad in search of new growth markets," BNEF's analysts wrote. | 
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