Foxconn hardly the eighth wonder of the world

It was two year ago when President Trump joined then Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker and officials from Foxconn to announce that the foreign company was planning to bring 13,000 jobs to Wisconsin. Trump used the occasion to declare that Wisconsin manufacturing was back, and that Wisconsin’s Foxconn plant would be the “eighth wonder of the world.” For all that splash, there have barely been ripples since. The plant isn’t open. In fact, it isn’t even built. The company is woefully behind on its job creation numbers, with at last report, only 178 workers hired. Not enough to qualify for the state’s offer of job incentives of up to $200,000 per job. The plans for the plant have changed, now much smaller making smaller flat screens. The president of Foxconn is taking a leave to run for President of Taiwan. Foxconn has bought properties in Madison, Eau Claire, Milwaukee and Green Bay. But they sit empty, with no visible activity. It is looking less and less like this deal with ever come to fruition, at least not in line with the original plans. And while job incentives won’t be paid until the company actually hires people, according to the contract, Foxconn could get subsidies for building a largely automated plant. So Wisconsin taxpayers would be subsidizing robots. All of this makes clear the need to revisit the deal, in hopes something can be salvaged. So much for Wisconsin’s Foxconn plant becoming the eighth wonder of the world.