Wednesday, January 30, 2019

Now Foxconn won't make anything?

Woke up to -26 temperature, flipped over to the Wheeler Report, and saw this headline.


In the article, Louis ("Thank you Mr. Foxconn") Woo says it is too expensive to make products in the US.

TOO EXPENSIVE? At $14.25 an hour and after massive subsidies and infrastructure paid for by Wisconsin taxpayers? What kind of horrid business model are they running?

But hey, Scott Walker's donors in the construction industry got some nice kickbacks for this white elephant. And Robbin' Vos sure got a lot of highway pork in his district that the rest of us paid for.

And if Foxconn,hires 400 people this year "associated with the project" that could work anyone else, then they get over $200 mil for the facility and the jobs.

Or more, as the Wisconsin Budget Project's Tamarine Cornelius tells us


I'll talk more later, when my laptop unfreezes.

4 comments:

  1. How much all in is Wisconsin on the hook for?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Depends if Foxconn gets 1,000 people working on the project by end of this year (not necessarily in Racine Co).

      If they get that, my quick count is

      15% of facility cost for 2/7 of total subsidy (estimated at $386 mil)

      $28 mil for job credits
      $912 mil in local subsidies and intrastructure
      $400 mil in cost and debt for I-94
      $130 mil to upgrade local roads into state highways (which took away $90 mil from other state projects)
      $150 mil in sales tax cuts for construction materials

      That comes close to $2 billion. And Foxconn says they can't make it even with all this help?

      I may be off on those numbers, so feel free to correct. But that's what I got.

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    2. Maybe Foxconn will build 1,000 new innovation centers.
      --
      https://www.wispolitics.com/2019/foxconn-technology-group-statement/

      Foxconn Technology Group: Statement

      We remain committed to the Wisconn Valley Science and Technology Park project, the creation of 13,000 jobs, and to our long-term investment in Wisconsin. As we have previously noted, the global market environment that existed when the project was first announced has changed. As our plans are driven by those of our customers, this has necessitated the adjustment of plans for all projects, including Wisconsin. While the project’s focus will be adjusted to meet these new realities, the Wisconsin project remains a priority for our company.

      Foxconn continues to actively consider opportunities for TFT technologies in terms of maximizing the positive impact of our Wisconsin project. We are broadening the base of our investment within the State of Wisconsin far beyond what we initially planned to ensure the company and our workforce will be positioned for long-term success.

      In addition to our consideration of plans to produce traditional products such as television sets, we are also examining ways for Wisconsin’s knowledge workers to promote research and development in advanced industrial internet technologies and produce high-tech applications and solutions for industries such as education, medical and healthcare, entertainment and sports, security, and smart cities.

      We look forward to continued investment in American talent as we build the AI 8K + 5G ecosystem we are creating in Wisconsin and the US. Further updates will be shared in due course.
      #

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    3. Yes! Thats the ticket! Innovation centers that give sweetheart real estate deals to other Walker donors (NW Mutual Life- COUGH).

      Which allows Foxconn to keep the tax credits while not actually making anything here, and having Potemkin Villages all over the state. What a deal!

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