Foxconn swears its committed to bringing 13,000 jobs to Wisconsin just two days after the state’s governor said it wants out from its deal with the Taiwanese company.
Wisconsin governor Tony Evers, who inherited the deal when he took over office in January, said recently that he wants to renegotiate the parameters of the deal that gives Foxconn $4 billion in tax breaks. Not wanting to miss out on all those incentives, Foxconn is adamant about maintaining its course.
“Foxconn remains committed to our contract,” the company said in a statement on Friday. “Foxconn’s commitment to job creation in Wisconsin remains long term and will span over the length of the WEDC (Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation) contract and beyond.”
Foxconn vs Wisconsin
The deal between Foxconn and Wisconsin was revealed in 2017 at a White House ceremony. Foxconn proposed to build a 20-million-square-foot factory that would make smartphone displays. Those plans eventually changed to making large TV displays. Earlier this year Foxconn chairman Terry Guo revealed that displays wouldn’t be made at the facility at all because the company can’t compete.
Instead of making displays, Foxconn says it will employ engineers and researchers at the plant with the goal of making products for the industrial and health care fields. It’s unclear how it will fulfill its promise of 13,000 jobs though under the new changes.
Despite all the opposition, Foxconn said today that construction on the facility will start this summer, two years after President Donald Trump attended a ground breaking ceremony.
