Foxconn fell short of targets in Wisconsin – misses out on tax credits

The Wisconsin economic development agency (WEDC) has sent a letter Jay Lee, vice chairman of Foxconn Technology Group, stating that the company was a long way away from producing the TV displays it had proposed in 2017, back when the company also promised to eventually create 13’000 jobs in the region, a report from Reuters reads. The plans for the factory in Mount Pleasant are now unclear, the letter reportedly states. It’s been back and forth ever since the start when it comes to the Taiwanese company’s plans for a plant in Wisconsin. However, when shovel actually hit dirt back in the summer of 2018, the company had vowed to invest USD 10 billion in building an LCD panel plant in Mount Pleasant and to create 13’000, new jobs, as reported by Evertiq. The state also provided the company with tax breaks and other incentives in the amount of USD 4 billion. But the tax credits, up to USD 2.85 billion, would all be “pay-as-you-grow,” which means Foxconn would have to create jobs and make capital investments before it earns any credits. Foxconn however said in a statement to Reuters that it had employed more than the minimum 520 full-time workers by the end of the year to get the credit. “WEDC’s determination of ineligibility during ongoing discussion is a disappointment and a surprise that threatens good faith negotiations,” the company told Reuters. The WEDC’s review however, found that Foxconn had fewer full-time employees than the minimum. It also fell short of its employment goal in 2018, the report concludes.