Foxconn Technology Group is moving forward with its plan to build a manufacturing facility in Wisconsin and President Donald Trump has promised to visit when production starts next year, the Taiwanese company’s leader told reporters following a meeting at the White House.
Foxconn CEO Terry Gou met with Trump yesterday [Macau time] to discuss the company’s ever-changing Wisconsin project. Gou was in Wisconsin later in the day where he planned to meet for the first time with Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, a critic of the plan.
Foxconn, the world’s largest electronics company whose customers include Apple, Amazon and Google, plans to build a display screen factory in southeast Wisconsin. Foxconn reached the deal with former Republican Gov. Scott Walker and Evers was critical of the taxpayer credits promised to the company during his successful campaign against Walker last year.
Evers told reporters Thursday he planned to tell Gou he looked forward to making sure the Wisconsin project was successful. But Evers said there was no question the project was going to be smaller than originally planned, given that Foxconn has said publicly it’s building a factory that makes smaller display screens than the existing contract envisioned.
After waffling earlier this year on its intentions, Gou recommitted to the project in February after a meeting with Trump. Gou said that during their meeting Wednesday, the president committed to coming to Wisconsin in May 2020 to see the start of production, according to Kyodo News.
Trump has been a vocal backer of the project, proclaiming it the “eighth wonder of the world” and he visited Wisconsin last summer for the groundbreaking. Trump has heralded the development as a sign of resurgence in American manufacturing.
But skeptics question whether Foxconn will fulfill its commitments in the project, citing others it has promised but failed to deliver around the world. Foxconn failed to meet its job targets last year to qualify for tax credits in Wisconsin and has downsized the type of factory it intends to build. AP
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