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Gov. Tony Evers said on Wednesday that he wanted to renegotiate nearly $ 3 billion in Wisconsin with Foxconn Technology Group, saying it was unrealistic to think the company would employ 13,000 people as promised to the company. 39; origin.
Mr. Evers told reporters that the state was working with Foxconn, a Taiwan-based company, to revise the initial contract for the proposed installation for the construction of LCD panels. because it is a situation that no longer exists.
President Donald Trump extolled the Foxconn project in Wisconsin as a sign of the return of manufacturing to the United States. It would be Foxconn's first manufacturing plant outside of Asia, but skeptics questioned the project announced more than a year ago.
Under the terms of the original agreement reached by Evers' predecessor, the governor, Scott Walker, Foxconn could get more than 4 billion local and local tax credits if it employs 13,000 people and invests 10 billion in the state.
This agreement has been sharply criticized by Democrats, including Evers, as being too favorable for Foxconn. The incentive program was the largest of its kind in US history for a foreign company and the largest ever made in Wisconsin.
Foxconn, the world's largest provider of electronic equipment, aims to meet initial investment and employment goals, even though the scale of the project has been reduced.
Last month, Foxconn announced the start of the construction of a Generation 6 plant later this year, with the goal of producing small screens for mobile phones, tablets, TVs and other devices. Foxconn had originally announced the construction of a larger Generation 10 plant capable of producing screens three times larger.
Evers was asked Wednesday if he still thought Foxconn will employ 13,000 people in that state.
I think at the moment it would be an unrealistic expectation when they would minimize the footprint of what they were doing, "said Evers. So, 13,000 people as Foxconn employees are probably hard to imagine for me right now.
Evers said that he did not know what would be a more realistic number.
Less, it's safe, he says.
Reducing the size of the project means that changes must be made to the contract that was based on Foxconn's construction of a larger facility, Evers said.
It is clear that the agreement reached is no longer at stake, said Evers. Our goal is to ensure that taxpayers are protected and environmental standards are respected. We believe that we must review this contract and see if it is necessary to reduce it in order to correct it.
Mark Hogan, manager of the Wisconsin Economic Development Agency who negotiated the contract with Foxconn, said he and Evers' main collaborator had had frequent conversations with the company since the announcement from the construction project of a smaller plant.
These negotiations, which include the effects of Foxconn's plans on the contract, will continue as construction proceeds, Hogan said.
A Foxconn representative did not comment immediately, but the possibility of rewriting the contract has sparked criticism from the Republican Senate Leader of the State of Wisconsin.
If the state is willing to give up its commitment to Foxconn and open a contract without the agreement of both parties, what guarantee can Wisconsin offer to any other company wishing to expand here? The Senate majority leader, Scott Fitzgerald, said in a statement.
Assembly President Robin Vos said he was concerned that Mr. Evers would try to undermine the US contract with Foxconn, but that the deal was irrevocable.
While Foxconn is working to create 13,000 jobs in Wisconsin, I'm ready to hear if some flexibility is needed to achieve this goal, which I hope is the intention of Governor Evers, Vos said. in a statement.
Mr. Evers also stated that he did not think that the Wisconsin project would be affected by the decision of Foxconn President and CEO Terry Gous of Taiwan. Gou negotiated the agreement with the representatives of Wisconsin and made frequent visits to the state.
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