Foxconn to build $10B Wis. factory, create 3,000 jobs
WASHINGTON — President Trump says electronics giant Foxconn will build a $10 billion factory in Wisconsin that’s expected to initially create 3,000 jobs.
The announcement yesterday comes at a critical juncture for a Trump administration that pledged to generate manufacturing jobs, but has struggled to deliver results as quickly as the president promised. In a White House speech, Trump said the financial commitment by Foxconn CEO Terry Gou was a direct result of his electoral win.
“If I didn’t get elected, he definitely would not be spending $10 billion,” Trump said. “We are going to have some very, very magnificent decades.”
But the decision to build the plant in Wisconsin also stemmed from $3 billion in state economic incentives over 15 years if Foxconn invests $10 billion in the state and ultimately adds 13,000 jobs. The incentives would only be awarded if Foxconn creates the jobs and pays an average salary of nearly $54,000.
The Wisconsin factory will produce liquid-crystal display panels, or LCDs, that are used in televisions and computer screens. It will be located in the congressional district of House Speaker Paul Ryan. It would mark a substantial gain for a state that currently has 472,000 manufacturing jobs and is still recovering from factory layoffs — including the closure of a General Motors plant in Ryan’s hometown — that hit after the 2008 financial crisis.
Taiwan-based Foxconn is perhaps best known for assembling Apple iPhones in China.
Inside the White House, discussions with Foxconn about opening a U.S. plant were led over several months by Jared Kushner, a senior adviser and the president’s son-inlaw, and Reed Cordish, an assistant to the president on technology initiatives. The president had met personally with Gou, who yesterday complimented Trump’s leadership at the event by saying, “Mr. President, the eagle flies.”
Seven states had competed for the Foxconn plant. By awarding the plant to Wisconsin, Foxconn would appear to be giving a victory to both Trump and the state’s Republican governor, Scott Walker, who is up for re-election next year.
Other states that vied for the plant are Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Texas.
Walker and several other Wisconsin officials, including Ryan, attended the White House announcement.