Foxconn Is Reconsidering Plan For Wisconsin Factory

An anonymous reader quotes a report from The New York Times: Foxconn, the giant Taiwan-based company that announced plans for a $10 billion display-making factory in Wisconsin, now says it is rethinking the project's focus because of 'new realities' in the global marketplace (Warning source may be paywalled; alternative source). The company said Wednesday that it remained committed to creating as many as 13,000 jobs in Wisconsin, and continued to 'actively consider opportunities' involving flat-screen technology. But it said it was also 'examining ways for Wisconsin's knowledge workers to promote research and development.' 'The global market environment that existed when the project was first announced has changed,' Foxconn said in a statement. 'As our plans are driven by those of our customers, this has necessitated the adjustment of plans for all projects, including Wisconsin.' But the company said its presence in Wisconsin remained a priority, and said it was 'broadening the base of our investment' there. The statement followed a Reuters report quoting Louis Woo, a special assistant to Foxconn's chairman, Terry Gou, as saying that the costs of manufacturing screens for televisions and other consumer products are too high in the United States. 'In terms of TV, we have no place in the U.S.,' Mr. Woo told Reuters. 'We can't compete.' Some Wisconsin Republicans blamed the company's change in plans on the election of Gov. Tony Evers, a Democrat, to succeed Mr. Walker, a Republican, in November. In a joint statement, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos and the Senate majority leader, Scott Fitzgerald, said it was 'not surprising Foxconn would rethink building a manufacturing plant in Wisconsin under the Evers administration.' The lawmakers added: 'The company is reacting to the wave of economic uncertainty that the new governor has brought with his administration.'

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