Foxconn's $10bn move to the US is not a reason to celebrate

[Eugene]

Source: The Guardian

Foxconn's $10bn move to the US is not a reason to celebrate

The company doesn’t have a great track record of keeping its job-creation promises, for one. Then there’s the issue of worker conditions in China

Zoe Sullivan
Saturday 29 July 2017 12.00 BST

The announcement by the Chinese giant Foxconn that it will build an LCD-manufacturing facility in Wisconsin worth an estimated $10bn was met with considerable fanfare.

But the state has a troubled history in matters of economic development and the company, a supplier to Apple, Google, Amazon and other tech giants, has a lackluster record when it comes to fulfilling its promises. The news should raise red flags.

The deal, backers say, will create 13,000 jobs in six years – in return for a reported $3bn in state subsidies. Only 3,000 of those jobs will come immediately. Furthermore, the Washington Post has reported that Foxconn has a track record of breaking such job-creation promises. In 2013, the company announced plans to hire 500 people and invest $30m in Pennsylvania. The plan fizzled out.

Wisconsin’s Republican governor, Scott Walker, was elected in 2010 on a campaign pledge to bring 250,000 jobs to the state. So far he has fallen short. A successful Foxconn project would be a major step towards repairing his damaged credibility.

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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/jul/29/foxconn-china-apple-wisconsin-trump

[Wellstone ruled]

1. Just another B.S.

proposal from the Republicans. First,the State of Wisconsin can not handle the 3.6 billion give away. Walker and Friends have destroyed their ability to Tax or Bond anything near this amount. More P.R. to save Walker's ass.