Recently, Rivian was questioned about her policies related to human rights and the environment . The questions were posed by SOC Investment Group, a union-affiliated pension fund advisor, who raised concerns about how the company handles these issues indoors. The electric vehicle start-up received a letter whose excerpts were shared by Reuters last week: “Failing to address potential human rights abuses and environmental damage associated with the battery life cycle exposes Rivian to significant regulatory, litigation and reputational risks. ”
This week, this letter was apparently responded to by the manufacturer, According to another Reuters report, although it did not meet the satisfaction of Dieter Waizenegger, CEO of SOC Investment Group . According to the executive, Rivian’s response lacks depth and commitment regarding these two essential issues for the future of the automotive industry: “They sent us a lot of words, but it really is raising a lot of questions and we expect more substance than aspirations,” he said. Waizenegger in an interview. “It particularly lacks strong commitments to address critical human rights and environmental risks.”
All this happens when Rivian gets closer to performing its public offering, which is already predicted by experts as a resounding success . However, this could change as such social and environmental concerns are compounded by a recent lawsuit made by Laura Schwab, former vice president of sales and marketing for the company. , who claims to have been a victim of gender discrimination before being unjustifiably fired by the company due to an alleged reorganization:
“Despite my 20 years of automotive experience and my role as Vice President of Sales and marketing, I was excluded from crucial meetings that affected our mission and my team. Over and over again, I raised concerns about vehicle prices and lead times , but they didn’t listen to me, even though I have extensive experience in launching and fixing of vehicle prices. It wasn’t until my (often less experienced) male colleagues came up with exactly the same ideas that the commercial director responded. Never in my years in the automotive industry have I experienced such flagrant marginalization, “he said.
The company has not given details in this regard, but there is no room He doubts that his reputation has been compromised by these events . Until a few weeks ago, Rivian had maintained an incredible streak of successes, among which stood out the investment from Ford and Amazon and the start of production of its R1T , which now holds the title of being the first Electric pickup truck coming off an American production line.
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