Foxconn Audit Delayed Two Months

Foxconn’s groundbreaking ceremony. Photo from the White House.

An audit of Foxconn’s 2019 jobs report has been put off until mid-July, with the auditors blaming the state’s COVID-19 pandemic conditions, according to the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp.

The audit was originally due May 15, and is now due July 14. The audit is conducted by an independent third party under the company’s agreement with the state, then submitted to Foxconn, which will turn it over to the state.

Submission of the audit is one of the conditions for Foxconn to receive up to $3 billion in state tax credits under legislation passed during Scott Walker’s last term as governor to lure the company to build a plant in Racine County.

The company claimed in its 2019 report, which was submitted April 1, that it had hired more than 600 employees by the end of 2019, clearing a quota for the tax credits.

What will actually be produced at the Wisconsin plant, located in the Village of Mount Pleasant, has been in flux since ground first broke on the project. Most recently the company has said it would manufacture ventilators to meet a demand for the respiratory machines brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Reprinted with permission of Wisconsin Examiner.