Foxconn picks Wisconsin as site of $10 billion plant

WASHINGTON—President Donald Trump said Wednesday that electronics giant Foxconn will build a $10 billion factory in Wisconsin that’s expected to initially create 3,000 jobs, the largest economic development project in state history.

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, scheduled to be open by 2020, would be massive. The campus dubbed “Wisconn Valley,” would cover nearly 1.6 square miles and be three times the size of the Pentagon.

Foxconn’s plant will produce liquid-crystal display panels, or LCDs, that are used in televisions and computer screens. The factory 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. The company noted in a statement that having the Wisconsin factory would help it better serve the major U.S. technology companies that are its clients.

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-in-law, and Reed Cordish, an assistant to the president on technology initiatives. The president had met personally with Gou, who on Wednesday complimented Trump’s leadership at the event by saying, “Mr. President, the eagle flies.”

Seven states, including Texas, 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.