“Foxconn Technology Group is reconsidering plans to make advanced liquid crystal display panels at a $10 billion Wisconsin campus, and said it intends to hire mostly engineers and researchers rather than the manufacturing workforce the project originally promised,” Jess Macy Yu and Karl Plume report for Reuters. “Louis Woo, special assistant to Foxconn Chief Executive Terry Gou, told Reuters… [that] the company was still evaluating options for Wisconsin, but cited the steep cost of making advanced TV screens in the United States, where labor expenses are comparatively high.”
“Rather than a focus on LCD manufacturing, Foxconn wants to create a ‘technology hub’ in Wisconsin that would largely consist of research facilities along with packaging and assembly operations, Woo said,” Yu and Plume report. “It would also produce specialized tech products for industrial, healthcare, and professional applications, he added.”
“Earlier this month, Foxconn, a major supplier to Apple Inc., reiterated its intention to create 13,000 jobs in Wisconsin, but said it had slowed its pace of hiring. The company initially said it expected to employ about 5,200 people by the end of 2020; a company source said that figure now looks likely to be closer to 1,000 workers,” Yu and Plume report. “But Woo, in the interview, said about three-quarters of Foxconn’s eventual jobs will be in R&D and design – what he described as ‘knowledge’ positions – rather than blue-collar manufacturing jobs.”
“Currently, to qualify for the tax credits Foxconn must meet certain hiring and capital investment goals. It fell short of the employment goal in 2018 – hiring 178 full-time jobs rather than the 260 targeted – failing to earn a tax credit of up to $9.5 million,” Yu and Plume report. “The company may be prepared to walk away from future incentives if it is unable to meet Wisconsin’s job creation and capital investment requirements, according to the source familiar with the matter.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Foxconn fizzling in Wisconsin?
SEE ALSO:
Foxconn secured permission to withdraw more than 7 million gallons a day from Lake Michigan – August 14, 2018
President Trump gives remarks at groundbreaking of Apple supplier Foxconn’s $10 billion Wisconsin factory – June 28, 2018
President Trump announces Apple supplier Foxconn’s $10 billion investment in Wisconsin and up to 13,000 jobs – July 27, 2017
President Trump to announce Apple-supplier Foxconn manufacturing plant in Wisconsin today at 5pm EDT – July 26, 2017
Apple supplier Foxconn nearing decision to build plant in Wisconsin to produce display panels – July 25, 2017
Made in America iPhones, after all? Apple supplier Foxconn considering iPhone plant in Wisconsin – June 15, 2017
China Premier Li visits Apple supplier Foxconn after CEO’s meeting with President Trump – May 10, 2017
Foxconn-Sharp considering LCD plant in USA, plans in response to President-elect Trump’s ‘Make in America’ call – January 13, 2017
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Readers “Fred Mertz” and “TJ” for the heads up.]
The GOP & Walker planned to give $3-Billion in tax and other incentives to this Chinese company. Now Foxx Conn will only hire a tiny fraction of the 13K workers – maybe.
All the money that was taken away from the state and set aside for this project that would create what kind of jobs and future? Money that could have & should have gone to the state. The dumb Wisconsin’s lost big time in going GOP.
One thing Foxx Conn understands, the US consumer economy is weak. The GOP & Trump removed nearly one million consumers form the holiday shopping season extending into Jan 2019.
“MacDailyNews Take: Foxconn fizzling in Wisconsin?”
More like the GOP stealing the future of the people in Wisconsin.
When are governmental bodies going to learn that these tax incentives become a big drain on the local community. The price of jobs = higher taxes to fund the debt, increased crime, more traffic congestion,broken promises, environmental stress, pressure on school districts, increased real estate prices etc. These represent the flip-side of the incentives.The winners are the corporations and gov’t political hacks, each patting the other on the back in their quest to make America great again while pocketing a lot of $$$.
Listened to Rep Mark Pocan from Wisconsin on the radio today and he was asked about this steaming pile left by Scott Walker and the Republicans. They have built nothing and reneged or failed to do what they promised like throwing $100 million to Univ of Wisconsin – Madison.
Foxconn should get totally out of the country.
No, I think it would be GREAT if Foxconn opened plants in America. But they shouldn’t get state funds to set up massive factories that most people KNOW were never going to happen.
I’m just glad they lost at least some of the tax money they were promised. (Though the photo op with the President was certainly worth it to the GOP).
The problem with deals like this is they generally look good shorter term and the downside only revealed many years later if the political/business elite can’t keep the lid on it indefinitely of course when it’s someone else’s problem. Seems in this case the feet of clay may have been quicksand and the politicians hoping to be long gone on a wave of appreciation and no doubt self grandisement by the time it’s discovered have some explaining to do. I suspect there will well be many cases like this revealed as time passes.
I’m sure there are people now saying “BUT 178 JOBS GOT CREATED AND THAT’S BETTER THAN NOTHING!!” For the price, no, it’s not better than nothing. That money could have created more jobs fixing the highways and bridges!
What money? There was no money. Potential tax credits, not cash.
There has ALREADY been money. There was MORE money based on how much FURTHER they went, but construction permits, property taxes, ALL of that has already been realized by Foxconn. Is it more valuable to waive those fees for 178 jobs? Those outside of the 178 would say no.
So… are people in Wisconsin tired of all the winning? (Well, 178 people are pretty happy. Not bad in a state of 5.7 million…
NO STATE SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO BUY JOBS. No more incentives. None. Businesses have money, if they don’t then they should go under and let some new kids on the block take their chance. Quit floating these money pits tax dollars, quit picking winners and making others losers. these money pits will leave a community based on how much money another state, county, and city governments will cough up. Let business them pick based on the existing people, schools, crime rates… guess what, now that money you pay in taxes will be use to make your community smarter, safer, …
I don’t mind the incentives. But they need to be really careful that what the incentives are for is actually what they’re getting. I get that states, and cities compete with one another for large corporate projects. A large number of long term Jobs is good, it also comes with retailers of all sorts supporting that project. So the benefits go beyond the specific Jobs for the project, about double, in estimates.
But this isn’t the first time Foxconn has promised a plant here, and backed down.