Foxconn Committed to Wisconsin, Says State Official Amid Reports of LCD Fab’s Demise
“Ongoing discussions” with Foxconn officials reflect the company’s “continued commitment to the state of Wisconsin,” said Mark Hogan, CEO of Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. (WEDC), reacting to reports Foxconn executives say high costs of manufacturing large-screen advanced TV displays in the U.S. could force them to sharply scale back plans to build a $10 billion LCD fab there or to abandon the project.
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“Over the past 45 years, Foxconn’s success has been based on the company’s ability to foresee and adapt to technological advancements,” said Hogan, whose agency negotiated the contract on the state’s behalf (see 1711130014). “Foxconn’s long-term success both globally and within Wisconsin is centered around the alignment of its business model with ever-changing global economic conditions, including evolving customer demands,” he said Wednesday. Foxconn didn't respond to questions.
WEDC’s Foxconn contract "provides the company the flexibility to make these business decisions" and "protects Wisconsin’s taxpayers," said Hogan. "Foxconn will not qualify for tax credits until, at the earliest, 2020, and then only if the company meets its annual job creation and capital investment requirements.” WEDC's contract specified the company would earn maximum cash incentives only if it hired 13,000 employees averaging more than $53,000 in annual salary.
Landing the Foxconn fab in Wisconsin was the brainchild of former Gov. Scott Walker (R), who lost his bid for a third term in November. President Donald Trump, at a July 2017 ceremony, said the Foxconn project, under his watch, would mean the return of electronics manufacturing jobs to the U.S. (see 1707270017). Display Supply Chain Consultants, which closely tracks capacity utilization at LCD fabs and construction of new plants, has “heard from equipment companies over the past couple of months to remove this project from our fab schedules,” emailed CEO Ross Young Tuesday of the Foxconn curtailment in Wisconsin.