Foxconn’s Rollbacks Its ‘Make In America’ Plans, Scraps Promise To Build A $10 Billion Factory 

Taiwanese tech behemoth Foxconn has decided to scrap its plan to build an expansive manufacturing facility in Wisconsin, U.S and will instead set up a research center that will employ engineers and other highly educated workers.

Foxconn was planning to manufacture LCD screens in the proposed $10 billion factory.

Reuters quoted Louis Woo, special assistant to Foxconn chief executive Terry Gou as saying that “In Wisconsin we’re not building a factory, You can’t use a factory to view our Wisconsin investment.”

in 2017, Wisconsin had agreed to provide many incentives to Foxconn including $3 billion in tax breaks and credits in lieu of commitment from one of world’s largest manufacturers to establish factory and create 13,000 new blue-collar jobs in the state over a 15 year time period. US President Trump even touted the announcement has a vindication of his plan to bring back manufacturing to the US.

Foxconn had promised to hire more than 5,000 Wisconsin workers by the end of 2020, but as per the Reuters reports that they have decided to scale down the hiring to just 1,000 workers. Wisconsin can now choose to invoke a clause in the agreement that allows it to revoke tax breaks and credits if the Foxconn does not honour its job creation commitment.

Foxconn watchers point out the company has a history of going back on high-profile job-creation promises. In 2013, the company claimed that it will create 300 manufacturing jobs by investing $30 million in a technology factory in central Pennsylvania but later scrapped the plan.