Foxconn pledges 2020 production in troubled Wisconsin factory

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Foxconn will be getting its Wisconsin factory up and running in 2020, company chief Terry Gou has promised, insisting the Apple assembly partner will start mass production at the troubled facility at some point this year, despite its slow progress.

President Trump (center) breaks ground on the Foxconn factory in June 2018
President Trump (center) breaks ground on the Foxconn factory in June 2018


The founder of Foxconn told employees at a Taipei new year's party for the company of its intention to get the factory functional and in production during 2020. As part of the comments, Gou also tipped Foxconn would send more employees over to the facility, advising "I hope many Hon Hai colleagues will go work in the U.S. to help America boost manufacturing and build a supply chain."

Gou's comments, as reported by Bloomberg, are relatively vague in terms of timings, for the $10 billion project, aside from the 2020 production launch schedule. In July, it was claimed Foxconn would open the factory up to production in May 2020, though in a considerably reduced capacity.

The project sought to employ 13,000 workers at the site by 2032, though so far it has hired considerably fewer employees than it has promised to receive a total of $4 billion in incentives. One 2018 deadline was missed by hiring just 156 people when 260 was needed, while it is unclear if another 2019 target for 520 people has been met to receive another $222 million package.

For the May 2020 opening, revealed by Governor Tony Evers in July 2019, Foxconn will start up with just 1,500 jobs.

The plans for the factory originally involved a 20 million square foot LCD factory, but that was scaled down to a twentieth of the size, and for the production of smaller LCDs and server assembly. In April 2019, it was found most of the company's presence in Wisconsin consisted of empty buildings, as well as some occupied by other tenants, indicating little had been done to further its cause.

The loss of homes, extensive infrastructure work, and other projects performed by the state at considerable expense turned the Wisconsin factory into a political issue, one that even prompted Gou to head to the state for discussions following a 2019 White House meeting.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 13
    Vaporfactory.
    lkruppronnStrangeDaysdysamoriawatto_cobra
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  • Reply 2 of 13
    lkrupplkrupp Posts: 10,557member
    Appleish said:
    Vaporfactory.
    Just like the Mac Pro being “assembled” in Texas. For show only.
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 3 of 13
    dewmedewme Posts: 5,973member
    They may as well open a hot dog stand, declare victory, give the taxpayers their money back, and move on. Sorry to sound glib, but it’s really the WI taxpayers and local community leaders who are getting screwed on these dog & pony quick fix political sideshows. 

    Sometimes you have to do the really hard work to improve your community’s ability to prosper. Throwing money at the problem without addressing the root cause is usually a cash incinerator. What a shame. 
    pscooter63dysamoriawatto_cobra
     3Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 4 of 13
    Solisoli Posts: 10,038member
    Appleish said:
    Vaporfactory.
    I know it's a factory but I would've gone with vaporwarehouse.
    fastasleepStrangeDaysdysamoriaCarnagewatto_cobra
     5Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 5 of 13
    Soli said:
    Appleish said:
    Vaporfactory.
    I know it's a factory but I would've gone with vaporwarehouse.
    The article mentions "empty buildings" so that's arguably more accurate. They are literally buildings filled with air.
    dysamoriawatto_cobra
     2Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 6 of 13
    ronnronn Posts: 704member
    Subsidized corps are like crackheads. They promise to do better with a li'l bit more help.
    StrangeDayswatto_cobradaven
     3Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 7 of 13
    fastasleepfastasleep Posts: 6,468member
    lkrupp said:
    Appleish said:
    Vaporfactory.
    Just like the Mac Pro being “assembled” in Texas. For show only.
    How so?
    dysamoriawatto_cobra
     2Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 8 of 13
    lkrupp said:
    Appleish said:
    Vaporfactory.
    Just like the Mac Pro being “assembled” in Texas. For show only.
    Er, no. Assembled is assembled, and has been for some time. This is a fake factory, it doesn't exist or assembly, let along produce.
    ronndysamoriamuthuk_vanalingamfastasleepwatto_cobra
     5Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 9 of 13

    ronn said:
    Subsidized corps are like crackheads. They promise to do better with a li'l bit more help.
    Agreed. Many of those against personal assistance programs seem to have no issue when the welfare is corporate. Just more of the same old class warfare, I'm afraid. 
    ronndysamoriamuthuk_vanalingamwatto_cobra
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  • Reply 10 of 13
    The timing is suspicious. Who is about to run for re-election and is known to lean on associates for support?
    ronnwatto_cobra
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  • Reply 11 of 13
    dysamoriadysamoria Posts: 3,430member
    Wait wait wait: I thought it was revealed that this was NEVER going to be a factory and only offices and R&D? Did that change?
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 12 of 13
    dysamoriadysamoria Posts: 3,430member

    ronn said:
    Subsidized corps are like crackheads. They promise to do better with a li'l bit more help.
    Agreed. Many of those against personal assistance programs seem to have no issue when the welfare is corporate. Just more of the same old class warfare, I'm afraid. 
    Yes, I see that a LOT and it drives me mad. The lack of empathy and critical thinking...
    daven
     1Like 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 13 of 13
    Fatmanfatman Posts: 513member
    This is how it works - Tesla opens a factory in China it’s up and running in a year, we hand them all our technology, the plans to build the most advanced electric car and provide jobs and training to hundreds of Chinese. Foxconn ‘promises’ to create a factory and jobs in the US to do the same to build the most advanced chips and electronic products. Years later nothing has been accomplished - no jobs, no transfer of knowledge. It will never happen. That’s how the Chinese operate, they take but don’t give / contracts are one-sided, I’ve dealt with them firsthand with companies in Shandong and Shanghai ... it’s brutal. Mark my word we will all be driving Chinese cars (knock off Teslas) and using Chinese smart phones (knock off iPhones) in five years. The theft is already happening and the products are already being manufactured. Once we lose that technical knowledge the US is doomed... we’ll be a nation of (synthetic Chinese meat) hamburger flippers... and plummet into poverty.
    watto_cobradaven
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