Foxconn could slow down recruitment at its Wisconsin plant

In 2017, Foxconn announced that its $ 10 billion plant in Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin, would create more than 13,000 jobs, attracted by the state by lucrative government subsidies to revive manufacturing. In the region. While the plant is still under construction, initial hiring seems slow, and the company says it has "adjusted our recruitment and hiring schedule," in part because of global economic conditions and the tightening of the labor market. this state.

Friday, The Wall Street Journal reported that the company "had not reached the minimum number of jobs that it was necessary to create in 2018 to be able to claim tax credits for the creation of". jobs by the state ". The Wisconsin Economic Development Corp says the company must create 260 full-time jobs, but only 178. As a result, the company will not receive tax credits for 2018. The WSJ quotes the low employment rate of the state as a slow factor in hiring and notes that the company could obtain a tax credit of $ 19.1 million if it exceeds its hiring goal of 2 080 jobs this year. Last November, the company denied information that it was seeking to bring in Chinese workers to strengthen its workforce.

On top of that, Foxconn seems to adjust its hiring expectations in the near future. He tells Bloomberg that he "remains determined" to create the 13,000 jobs promised, but that it could slow down his hiring: "we must have the flexibility to adapt to various factors, including the global economic situation". The company and former Gov. Scott Walker has been heavily criticized, both for the large grants promised to the company and for the possibility that the company is not keeping its promise to create 13,000 jobs in the state. .

These economic conditions include the tightening of Apple's iPhones market, which Foxconn manufactures in China. Apple would slow down its own hiring following weaker-than-expected sales of the latest generation of iPhones. The weak level of demand in China and the larger battery replacements than expected last year are among the reasons for the slowdown. The Foxconn, Wisconsin plant will not manufacture iPhones – it will instead produce LDC panels – but slowing global demand seems to be pushing Foxconn to a more cautious approach.