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Foxconn Reportedly Nearing Decision to Invest in Display Factory in Wisconsin

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Taiwanese electronics manufacturer Foxconn is nearing a decision to invest in Wisconsin, and could hold an event in Washington, D.C. as soon as this week to discuss its U.S. investment plans, according to The Wall Street Journal.

wisconsin-foxconn-800x318.jpg

Foxconn is one of Apple's primary iPhone assemblers in China, but in Wisconsin, the company is initially looking at producing display panels that can be used in large-screen electronics like televisions, according to the report.

The report, citing two people allegedly familiar with the plans, said Foxconn is also looking in the Detroit area for a possible factory.

Last month, Foxconn chairman Terry Gou confirmed that Foxconn is interested in investing at least $10 billion towards U.S. manufacturing in seven states: Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana, and Texas.

Foxconn's display factory in Wisconsin will reportedly cost at least $7 billion. Gou said it could create tens of thousands of American jobs.

Earlier, Gou confirmed Apple is willing to invest in the facility, suggesting the Wisconsin plant could eventually also be used to manufacture smaller displays for products like iPhones, iPads, and MacBooks.

Foxconn has reportedly been in talks with U.S. government officials for several months over the facility, including House Speaker Paul Ryan, a Republican who represents a district in southeastern Wisconsin.

Gou said Foxconn will work closely with Japanese display maker Sharp, which it acquired last year, on its U.S. investment plans.

Rumors suggesting Foxconn might open its first U.S. factory began circulating last November, after Apple reportedly asked its suppliers Foxconn and Pegatron to look into the feasibility of producing iPhones in the United States.

Article Link: Foxconn Reportedly Nearing Decision to Invest in Display Factory in Wisconsin
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2017/07/24/foxconn-nearing-wisconsin-decision/
Regarding the tens of thousands of jobs, I would expect that's the creative accounting these project always receive where the guy who drops off the portable toilets to the job site for six months (and already had a job) is counted in that number but there will be very few people working in what will be a highly automated factory when it's complete. I'm a fan of automation in manufacturing, just trying to dampen the hype for what will ultimately be relatively few new jobs.
 
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(Armchair futurist)

Trump will cite this as one of his “victories”.

The opposition will get into the workers, and there will be more strike days that not. The “commies” will talk the workers that they have the right to earn $50K/year (because Apple is rich, e.g.) and it will end up in another closed factory.

China and the DNC won’t be liking this one bit and they won’t stop until this ends.
 
OK, so we build the panels here and them them overseas for assembly and then ship the completed units back to the states. Even if they build the phones here, where are they going to get the mass work forces required.
 
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Would make sense to convert the Mac Pro assembly lines in USA to produce the new iMac Pro with USA-made panels.
 
Didn't I just see an article that Apple is setting up an OLED research space in Taiwan? But now Foxconn, in Taiwan, is going to set up in Wisconsin? Umm..:confused:
 
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As others have noted and as an owner of a Wisconsin manufacturing company myself, there is ZERO chance this factory will employ 10,000 people. They're undoubtably counting thousands of people who will work in logistics outside of the factory, plus short-term construction and infrastructure jobs needed to build the plant that will go away once it's up and running. Not complaining about adding another manufacturer to the state, but it will have very little effect on the jobs market in the state. My guess is that they'll likely hire from a pool of people that also includes skilled workers from as far away as Rockford to the southwest and Chicago to the south, so not all jobs will even go to Wisconsin residents.
 
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thisisnotmyname said:
Regarding the tens of thousands of jobs, I would expect that's the creative accounting these project always receive where the guy who drops off the portable toilets to the job site for six months (and already had a job) is counted in that number but there will be very few people working in what will be a highly automated factory when it's complete. I'm a fan of automation in manufacturing, just trying to dampen the hype for what will ultimately be relatively few new jobs.
Click to expand...
I get what you are saying, some jobs would be temporary but they are still work jobs. Off the top of my head possible jobs that would need to be done.
New construction or updating existing site.
Architect, concrete, steele, wood, drywall, plumbers, electricians, landscapers, painters, and of course inspectors. People needed to make those needed supplies plus the people to get them to the site. Of course the folks who use those materials onsite.
Someone has to create the machines that will make the product. Then you get to the long term workers. The machine workers, the shipping and receiving department, maintenance personnel along with custodial workers. Some trucking company will have additional work as well. Then throw in the management people with the possible public outreach social media public relation group. Finally, there needs to be a waste management addition. All additional work that was not needed without the new plant.
 
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That’s too much winning...

To be linked with Apple willing to master the entire OLED production.
 
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gnipgnop said:
Because Wisconsin has an economy, state government, and job market that's the closest to a third-world country?
Click to expand...
Illinois has been destroyed ...California is next, businesses are moving out https://cei.org/blog/nestlé-other-businesses-flee-california. Even so called 3rd world countries are in the position to snatch something from California. Wisconsin's unemployment rate is 3.2%, there is a shortage of workers but still foxconn is choosing them...California should ask. why?
 
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thisisnotmyname said:
Regarding the tens of thousands of jobs, I would expect that's the creative accounting these project always receive where the guy who drops off the portable toilets to the job site for six months (and already had a job) is counted in that number but there will be very few people working in what will be a highly automated factory when it's complete. I'm a fan of automation in manufacturing, just trying to dampen the hype for what will ultimately be relatively few new jobs.
Click to expand...

jmgregory1 said:
As others have noted and as an owner of a Wisconsin manufacturing company myself, there is ZERO chance this factory will employ 10,000 people. They're undoubtably counting thousands of people who will work in logistics outside of the factory, plus short-term construction and infrastructure jobs needed to build the plant that will go away once it's up and running. Not complaining about adding another manufacturer to the state, but it will have very little effect on the jobs market in the state. My guess is that they'll likely hire from a pool of people that also includes skilled workers from as far away as Rockford to the southwest and Chicago to the south, so not all jobs will even go to Wisconsin residents.
Click to expand...

Both of you couldn't be more wrong.

As someone who lives in Upstate NY, where GlobalFoundries recently built a similarly priced $7 billion fab (and growing) that is used to make processors, I can assure you that fabs of this scale create and maintain thousands of jobs.

It's a huge boost and capital injection into the local economy.

Of that 10,000, half of that is easily administrative and 'in-house' employees. The other half are local labor unions, speciality maintenance contracts, etc. It takes a lot of work to run a fab.
 
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I'm guessing Wisconsin residents are eager to live in dorm rooms and have no health insurance.

Manufacturing will occur wherever it is most cost effective. Nothing more, nothing less. Businesses have no other concerns in today's world.
 
AZ63 said:
I get what you are saying, some jobs would be temporary but they are still work jobs. Off the top of my head possible jobs that would need to be done.
New construction or updating existing site.
Architect, concrete, steele, wood, drywall, plumbers, electricians, landscapers, painters, and of course inspectors. People needed to make those needed supplies plus the people to get them to the site. Of course the folks who use those materials onsite.
Someone has to create the machines that will make the product. Then you get to the long term workers. The machine workers, the shipping and receiving department, maintenance personnel along with custodial workers. Some trucking company will have additional work as well. Then throw in the management people with the possible public outreach social media public relation group. Finally, there needs to be a waste management addition. All additional work that was not needed without the new plant.
Click to expand...

Someone did some investigative reporting on this back during one of the stimulus packages. I'm going on memory here but I seem to recall there being a GAP method of calculating how many "jobs" are generated but that real world surveys found they yielded far smaller actual results. In most cases the various support positions already existed and no new hiring took place. Existing resource just had a temporary productivity increase.
 
Urban Joe said:
Haha...California didn't make the list. Wonder why?
Click to expand...

YES, and am I happy. I live in California. We don't need or want low-pay factory jobs. Noice how Apple does it: All the jobs that pay over $100K per year are reserved for California, the working class jobs for "The East" (which starts 100 miles from the Pacific ocean and the slave-like jobs stay in China.

Yes you might find some exceptions but only a handful of them at Apple.

That is pretty much how Tesla works too. The executives, designers and engineers live in California and the "Giga Factory is across the border in Nevada. (Nothing against Nevada, The entire state except much of Las Vegas is beautiful)

Toyota did the same thing when they moved their headquarters to Texas from CA. Only the workers moved, designers and engineers and execs all stayed.

Why do they do it this way? Because of the example of a large aerospace manufacturer who moved EVERYONE to Staint Louis some years back. The company built a plant then paid moving costs for everyone. Within a year most of the top level people quit and moved back The problem is that as soon as you have a couple where one makes $120K and the other $140K they ask each other "why are we living in Detroit? Let's buy a house near the beach in California" and then they do.

I really don't mind this system at all.
 
Doesn't the fact that there is a lot of cheese and the packers count for anything?

Noen of that makes sense. The tax incentives which will be given (We won't hear about those until it's Apple news)
should be put into education, so these people can get better jobs.

Most assembly line labor is done by latinos in this country. I am sure they are also in Wisconsin and in Detroit, but 10,000 jobs of any kind generated by a hi-tech factory is a pipe dream.
 
Urban Joe said:
Haha...California didn't make the list. Wonder why?
Click to expand...

Maybe because California wasn't open to giving incentives...

Terry Gou (Foxconn chairman) specifically said that he wanted to incentive programs and tax breaks for foreign investors. The NY Times reported that they are not shy about asking governments for subsidies and that they are getting billions of in perks, tax breaks, and subsidies from China.

Of course there are both short and long term implications to giving away subsidies depending on the jurisdiction and political atmosphere, etc...
 
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