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Foxconn's Buildings In Wisconsin Are Still Empty, One Year Later (theverge.com) 100

An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Verge: Last April, The Verge reported that the Foxconn "innovation centers" scattered around Wisconsin were largely empty and that renovations were stalled. Several days after that article published, Foxconn held a press conference to announce that it had bought yet another building and told reporters that The Verge's reporting was incorrect. Specifically, Foxconn's Alan Yeung said The Verge's story had "a lot of inaccuracies, and we will actually make a correction, and we will make a statement about that." Yeung made those comments on April 12th, 2019. It is now April 12th, 2020, making it exactly one year since Foxconn promised a statement or correction regarding The Verge's report of empty buildings in Wisconsin. That statement or correction has never arrived. And the buildings are still empty.

TheThe main Foxconn project -- the factory in Mount Pleasant -- appears to be moving forward, albeit at a much smaller scale than the massive Generation 10.5 LCD fabrication plant originally promised and specified in the company's contract with the state. Earlier this month, the company submitted a project report to the state claiming it now employs more than 550 people, enough to qualify for lucrative subsidies. (Most were hired at the end of last year.) And although no LCD fabrication equipment has been reported as arriving at the factory, Foxconn has announced a giant glass dome that will house a data center, along with deals to make robotic coffee kiosks and alarm system components in what's been described as a "high-mix, low-to-medium volume" manufacturing strategy. And last week, Foxconn and Medtronic announced plans to build ventilators at the factory within four to six weeks. But it's unclear whether Foxconn will receive any subsidies. [...] The factory is set to open in May. Foxconn has deemed construction "essential," and work continues even under Wisconsin's stay-at-home order. It is unclear exactly what the factory will produce when it becomes operational.

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Foxconn's Buildings In Wisconsin Are Still Empty, One Year Later

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  • by guygo ( 894298 )
    That's the way the company who installed suicide nets for their factories plays. Announce, then wait for the news cycle to forget them, then do whatever they wanted to do begin with, insisting they deserve "subsidies" all the way. They will deliver NOTHING unless their feet are held to the fire.
    • That's the way the company who installed suicide nets for their factories plays

      What would you have done differently if you had been in charge at Foxconn?

      • by frank_adrian314159 ( 469671 ) on Monday April 13, 2020 @04:13PM (#59942296) Homepage

        What would you have done differently if you had been in charge at Foxconn?

        Nothing. That's just the way CxO's think.

        Now if I were in charge of the state's side of the thing, I probably wouldn't have gone through with the deal in the first place, knowing what lousy partners Foxconn are. But then what Republican administration actually looks at anything other than what the government can give to the private half of their public-private partnerships?

        • It's not that, it was a really good deal for Foxconn. I don't mean the subsidies, I mean immunising themselves against any trade sanctions. Look at what's happened to Huawei, who didn't go through the theatrics, vs. Foxconn, who did. Even if they never get a cent in subsidies, you know they'll never have to face any of the crap that Huawei have been put through in the last couple of years. So strategically it was a brilliant move.

          Oh, and for the person who brought up the suicide red herring: Foxconn pl

      • and then promptly get fired for (very marginally) reducing shareholder value.
    • by msauve ( 701917 )
      I think their name is spelled incorrectly. Shouldn't it be "Fox-Con?"
    • by tlhIngan ( 30335 ) <slashdot@worf.ERDOSnet minus math_god> on Monday April 13, 2020 @04:41PM (#59942432)

      That's the way the company who installed suicide nets for their factories plays

      Which, prior to installation, the factories had a lower suicide rate than China itself, the surrounding area, neighbouring countries or even the USA.

      Suicides are bad, sot hey put up netting to bring them down even more. They're actually putting up the same kinds of nets on bridges around North America too because well, suicide.

      • because well, suicide

        We're talking about suicide nets for slaves with no other way to escape, you dumb fucking shill.

    • That's the way the company who installed suicide nets for their factories plays.

      They were just the middleman; clearly it's Apple that deserves the credit for saving those lives. ;)

  • by fuzzyfuzzyfungus ( 1223518 ) on Monday April 13, 2020 @03:57PM (#59942200) Journal
    Most of the available space is being occupied by the Foxconn broken promise repository; so they will need some additional subsidies in order to make room for manufacturing operations; but this time that's what they'll be doing, they swear.
  • by ugen ( 93902 ) on Monday April 13, 2020 @04:07PM (#59942262)

    The factory will produce tax benefits, subsidies, and political goodwill. That's pure profit, and it does not require any of that difficult and dirty "labor"

  • Fuck Foxconn and fuck Scott Walker for inviting them
  • by Sebby ( 238625 ) on Monday April 13, 2020 @04:24PM (#59942358)

    Yeung made those comments on April 12th, 2019. It is now April 12th, 2020, making it exactly one year since Foxconn promised a statement

    Given that 2020 is a leap year, they actually got a whole extra day as well.

  • What Foxconn has is a massive amount of concrete poured, 550 people on their payroll doing fuck all and some tax credits shielding them from the full cost ... but it still cost them a ton of money.

    What Foxconn is doing for the moment is keeping their options open and the contract alive, this is not making them money.

  • They gave all sorts of direct cash to FoxConn to build that, and now, they have pretty much screwed over Wisconsin.
    Impressive.
  • Exactly the same in Guiyang, which was busy promoting itself as the new Big Data capital of world, even though much of its peasant population could barely afford a second pair of pants. Head out to the Hi-tech zone, where all the new hotels are nearly as empty as the big office building emblazoned with names like Microsoft, Google and Foxconn. Perhaps the only difference is that the local officials are 'slightly' more corrupt and delusional.

If all else fails, lower your standards.

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