After weeks of speculation, electronics giant Foxconn Technology has announced plans to build a massive manufacturing plant in Wisconsin for the production of display panels that are used in large-screen television sets.
The announcement, made at a White House ceremony attended by President Trump, Gov. Scott Walker, Foxconn Chairman Terry Gou, House Speaker Paul Ryan, and U.S. Senator Ron Johnson, could mean upwards of 13,000 new jobs in southeastern Wisconsin and about 22,000 indirect and induced jobs throughout Wisconsin.
“Today, we are announcing the single largest economic development project in the history of Wisconsin and one of the largest in the history of this country,” Walker stated during the White House press conference.
Foxconn, a Taiwanese company that assembles liquid crystal display (LCD) screens for Apple Inc.’s computers and iPhones, has been considering plant sites in seven U.S. states and chose Wisconsin over economic competitors such as Michigan and Ohio.
Foxconn, formally known as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., is interested in building a new plant on a large business campus in southeastern Wisconsin — what Walker referred to as “Wisconn Valley” — and it reportedly has been inspecting possible sites in Racine and Kenosha counties. The company has about one million employees worldwide and reports $136 billion in annual revenues.
Wisconsin was selected after offering a $3 billion package of state and local incentives, and part of the state’s commitment would include workforce training grants and infrastructure improvements. That has been a bone of contention with critics of the deal who worry that such a large commitment will crowd out other budgetary priorities. Foxconn, meanwhile, could invest as much as $10 billion or more in the Wisconsin project.
Others note the difficulty Wisconsin businesses are having with finding workers and wonder whether Foxconn will encounter workforce issues. The statewide unemployment rate of 3.1% represents an 18-year low and includes an enviable municipal unemployment rate of just 2.7% in the Dane County communities of Madison, Fitchburg, and Sun Prairie.
Walker, however, says the investment eventually would pay for itself and help the state retain a higher percentage of its college graduates. Other proponents have noted the project’s potential to draw people and workers to Wisconsin, particularly from metropolitan Chicago and northern Illinois.
During the announcement, Walker also said the average salary of the Foxconn jobs would be $53,000 plus benefits.
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