Foxconn’s Wisconsin plant to go ahead as planned, says Terry Gou after meeting governor Tony Evers
- Taiwanese billionaire says plans to proceed after meeting Evers, who appeared to backtrack on earlier criticism of scheme
- Critics question whether plant will really deliver the promised 13,000 jobs
Foxconn’s billionaire chairman Terry Gou said the company’s plans for its Wisconsin plant had “never changed” after a meeting with the state’s governor, who appeared to reverse his previous criticisms of the project.
Governor Tony Evers had recently said Foxconn’s plans to bring 13,000 jobs to the new display screen manufacturing facility were “unrealistic” and demanded that an agreement to provide billions of dollars in subsidies to the Taiwanese firm should be rewritten.
He had also claimed that Foxconn had tried to change the terms of the agreement, but Gou told Taiwanese media on Friday that the Wisconsin investment plans “had never changed”.
Evers, a Democrat, has been a long-time critic of the deal Foxconn negotiated with his Republican predecessor, Scott Walker, in 2018, but after meeting Gou on Thursday he indicated that the project would continue as planned.
In the agreement, Foxconn pledged to invest US$10 billion and create 13,000 jobs to qualify for up to US$4 billion in state and local government incentives.
