Advertisement

Foxconn to build plant in Wisconsin, invest $10B

By Danielle Haynes
U.S. President Donald Trump shakes hands with Foxconn chairman Terry Gou, who bows, during event in the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday. Foxconn will make an investment of $10 billion for an LCD plant in Wisconsin that will create thousands of jobs. Photo by Pat Benic/UPI
1 of 3 | U.S. President Donald Trump shakes hands with Foxconn chairman Terry Gou, who bows, during event in the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday. Foxconn will make an investment of $10 billion for an LCD plant in Wisconsin that will create thousands of jobs. Photo by Pat Benic/UPI | License Photo

July 26 (UPI) -- Taiwanese tech manufacturer Foxconn announced it is building a new plant in Wisconsin during an event with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House on Wednesday.

Trump said the company's $10 billion investment in southeast Wisconsin would create at least 3,000 jobs but could employ up to 13,000 people in the future.

Advertisement

The plant would require up to $3 billion in local, state and federal incentives, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported. The company manufactures iPhones and flat-panel television screens.

"America does not have a single LCD plant to produce a complicated system," Foxconn chairman Terry Gou said. "We are going to change that. It starts today with this investment in Wisconsin."

Trump praised the announcement for fitting in with his push to create manufacturing jobs in the United States.

"When this investment is complete, Foxconn has the potential to create more manufacturing jobs than we've seen in many, many decades," the president said. "Foxconn joins a growing list of industry leaders who understand that America's capabilities are limitless and that America's workers are unmatched, and that America's most prosperous days are just ahead.

Advertisement

The announcement comes a week after Trump highlighted manufacturing growth as part of his "Made in America" week. On July 17, he said he wanted to rebuild the manufacturing industry and scale back regulations that hinder business growth.

"Restoring American manufacturing will not only restore our wealth, it will restore our pride in ourselves, it will revitalize our independence," he said.

CNN reported Gou has considered moving some manufacturing to the United States for several years. In 2013, the company announced plans to invest $30 million to build a plant in Pennsylvania, though one has thus far not been built.

Foxconn already has facilities in Virginia and Indiana, employing less than 1,000 people at each.

The company has manufactured technology for Apple, Microsoft and HP among others, and at its peak employed more than 1 million people, mostly in China. Foxconn has faced criticism in China for working conditions and in 2012, faced the threat of a mass suicide by workers at a factory in Wuhan.

Latest Headlines