Mount Pleasant, WI – Foxconn Technology Group LTD has announced that it will move forward with the planned construction of its Gen 6 Fab facility, the anchor facility at the Wisconn Valley Science and Technology Park.
Officials with Foxconn said for months that it planned to delay hiring production workers due to shifts in the market. However, plans were changed after President Donald J. Trump and Foxconn chairman Terry Gou discussed the project.
The campus will serve both as an advanced manufacturing facility and a hub for high technology innovation for the region, according to a statement released at 11:50 a.m.
“Our decision is also based on a recent comprehensive and systematic evaluation to help determine the best fit for our Wisconsin project among TFT technologies,” according to the press release. “We have undertaken the evaluation while simultaneously seeking to broaden our investment across Wisconsin far beyond our original plans to ensure the company, our workforce, the local community, and the state of Wisconsin will be positioned for long-term success.
“We look forward to continuing to expand our investment in American talent in Wisconsin and the US.”
The announcement comes on the heels of a Nikkei Asian Source story — which Foxconn called inaccurate — saying that Foxconn planned to suspend the construction project.
Taiwan-based Foxconn Technology Group makes products for the education, medical and healthcare, entertainment and sports, security, and smart cities. A story by the Journal Sentinel Thursday morning cited a story published by the Nikkei Asian Review, saying that the $9 billion project has been “suspended and scaled back as a result of negotiations with new Gov. Tony Evers.”
In a statement released on Thursday, Foxconn officials noted that the interactions they have had with Evers and his team “have been constructive” and they called the Nikkei story inaccurate.
The Nikkei story also said Foxconn isn’t planning to fully abandon the Wisconsin project, only “slow the investment pace and scale back a bit at the moment because of weakening macroeconomic conditions and the uncertainties brought by the trade war.”
Local officials issued the following statement:
“We welcome today’s announcement that Foxconn has determined the LCD/TFT technology it will build at its advanced manufacturing campus in the Village of Mount Pleasant. We look forward to working with Foxconn as it advances its Generation 6 manufacturing facility, including its ongoing construction of manufacturing, assembly and research facilities in 2019.
Foxconn has confirmed to us that it will host information sessions in April for the next round of construction. It will also commence work on the Gen6 Fab facility, along with completing work on the campus facilities it shared earlier this week, over the next 18 months.
We remain committed to ensuring that Foxconn’s investment in our community will bring unparalleled economic development, job growth and enhanced quality of life for those in Racine County and throughout Wisconsin.”
Foxconn: Media report about suspending construction project inaccurate