Trump's appeal convinces Foxconn to build flat screens in Wisconsin



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The Taiwan-based electronics maker caused a storm this week, announcing plans to abandon plans to build the panels on its site, even though it was still considering hiring 13,000 workers. The company pledged $ 4 billion in incentives to states and local communities to develop Wisconsin facilities.

In a statement released Friday, Foxconn said that after a call between Trump and its president, Terry Gao, the company had decided to stick to its manufacturing activities.

"Our decision is also based on a recent systematic and comprehensive assessment to determine the best solution for our project in Wisconsin," the company said.

A spokeswoman for Foxconn said she was unaware of any other incentives or incentives that were offered to the company in the conversation with Trump.

She also could not say how the decision would affect the combination of work to be done on the site, nor how many hired workers would be involved in manufacturing. Nor could she say how many employees would be technicians and engineers in research and development.

Earlier this week, Louis Woo, Gou's special assistant, told Reuters that the company was considering creating a "technology hub" in Wisconsin. a factory promised by Trump and former Wisconsin governor Scott Walker. The installation would be largely composed of research facilities and some packaging and assembly operations. Woo said that three quarters of Foxconn's future jobs will be in research, development and design, not in manufacturing.
  Foxconn continues construction work in Wisconsin

Foxconn said that world market conditions were in the process of changing had reconsidered his intention to build flat screens in Wisconsin. She said that she would manufacture on-site, but would only engage in less bulky products, such as high-precision molding and assembly-system integration. He did not deny Woo's statements, including his comment that the Wisconsin plant could not compete in the manufacture of flat screens.

These comments caused a stir because, when Foxconn announced plans to build flat-panel displays in Wisconsin, it was announced by President Trump and his supporters are proof that jobs in the manufacturing sector have returned to the states -United. Critics have said that the package of tax breaks and tax incentives received by Foxconn, the richest ever offered to a foreign company for the installation of a plant, was an example of social protection.

Trump on Friday hailed the company's decision to resume its flat-panel construction projects in Wisconsin.

"Great news for Foxconn in Wisconsin after my conversation with Terry Gou!" he tweeted shortly after the announcement.

Despite everything, Foxconn has reduced its plans compared to what was announced at the end of 2017 when it announced the construction of large flat screens, the type used in large-screen TVs and other products top of the line. In the summer of last summer, it was transformed into much smaller flat screens, of the type used in consumer electronics such as home appliances and automobiles. It is this last product, the small screens, that came back in its plans from Friday.

And Foxconn can not say how many flat screens it will build in Wisconsin with the latest plans compared to its original announcement.

Some experts following the development of this facility have doubts about Foxconn's ability to complete the completion of the Wisconsin plant. Steven Deller, professor of economics at the University of Wisconsin, laughed at the recent announcement on Friday afternoon, pointing out other Foxconn-promised factories that do not have a lot to do. have never been built.

"I think they're playing games," he said to me. "They did the same thing in India, Brazil, and Pennsylvania, they have the habit of making promises and not respecting them."

Deller said from the beginning of negotiations that building an apartment made no sense. Screen production plant in the United States.

"These types of screens have become a commodity," he said. "The only way to be competitive is to reduce costs as much as possible.This means going to Asian markets for cheap labor." The R & D component, c & # 39; If you are planning to expand your product line, it makes sense to do so in the United States. "

CNN's Betsy Klein contributed to this story.

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