Check the back of your Apple device… “Designed in California, assembled in China” — not on the label: Assembled at Foxconn’s Chinese manufacturing facility. Taiwan-based Foxconn has done to electronic manufacturing what Henry Ford did to carmaking. And it was supposed to expand that expertise to a brand new factory in the US. Time for an update:
“8th Wonder of the World”... That’s what then-President Trump called the Foxconn plan for Wisconsin: Hire up to 13K local workers to make screens for cars, TVs, and other electronics. In exchange, Foxconn would get up to $4B in benefits from the state, county, and the small town of Mount Pleasant, WI. So here’s the update:
Transactional incentives can be a powerful weapon… that can backfire. Wisconsin hoped to be the epicenter of advanced American manufacturing. Instead, the town is saddled with debt, and local workers face broken job promises. The lesson Wisconsin officials took: One-off deals with corporations for job creation may not be optimal. Instead, CNBC highlights that Wisconsin is pivoting to focus on workforce development, infrastructure, and biz-friendly policies – not deals.