Foxconn Promises 1,300 New Jobs, $569 Million Expansion in Racine County
State WEDC could increase tax credits to $96 million to support this.
The Foxconn campus in Mount Pleasant, Wis., on Wednesday, May 8, 2024. Angela Major/WPR
Foxconn plans to spend $569 million to expand its manufacturing operations in Racine County over the next four years, the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. announced Tuesday.
The agency says Foxconn will expand its Wisconsin manufacturing footprint in Mount Pleasant and create more than 1,300 new jobs, including both factory and office workers.
The company says it makes artificial intelligence servers in Mount Pleasant. Jerry Hsiao, chief product officer at Foxconn, said in a statement the expansion is in response to rising demand for “data infrastructure.”
“Wisconsin accounts for close to a fourth of our workforce in America, and this second-stage project will double that presence in the state by the end of this decade,” he stated.
Under the newest revision to Foxconn’s contract with the state, Foxconn could earn up to $96 million in state tax credits through 2029, according to the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp.
“WEDC has been committed to ensuring Foxconn’s success and growth in our state,” WEDC Deputy Secretary Sam Rikkers said in a statement. “This new amendment reflects Foxconn’s status as one of the many leading global manufacturers that have chosen to grow in Wisconsin.”
By the end of 2024, the company had invested more than $700 million in its Mount Pleasant operations and created more than 1,200 jobs, according to WEDC. That’s a small fraction of the 13,000 workers the company said it expected to hire when it announced plans to build in Wisconsin eight years ago.
At that time, Foxconn said it was going to invest $10 billion on the site to manufacture large flat panel display screens.
Foxconn’s contract with the state was scaled back in 2021 from a $4 billion deal to an $80 million contract after it became clear the company’s initial plans wouldn’t materialize.
WEDC says Foxconn will create a total of more than 2,600 jobs and $1.2 billion in capital investment by the end of 2029.
At the end of this year, the agency estimates that Foxconn will have spent $672 million and created more than 1,452 jobs. Much of the site the Foxconn originally purchased is now being developed by Microsoft as a data center campus.
In a statement, Mount Pleasant Village President Dave DeGroot said the village couldn’t comment on the specifics of Foxconn’s plans, but said the village looks forward to working with the company.
“We are excited for Foxconn’s plan to create more jobs and expand its 21st century manufacturing operations,” he said.
Foxconn planning $569M expansion in Racine County that could create 1,300 jobs was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.
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This company and their boosters have no credibility in my opinion. I suspect this is just a ruse to suck more public money into this fiasco.