Foxconn again shifts Wisconsin plan after Trump intervenes

In this June 28, 2018 photo, President Donald Trump takes a tour of Foxconn with Foxconn chairman Terry Gou, right, and CEO of SoftBank Masayoshi Son in Mt. Pleasant, Wis. Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers' administration and Foxconn Technology Group say that a massive project planned for the state is moving forward, while disputing Republicans who blamed the new Democratic governor for a change in direction away from manufacturing toward more white collar jobs. Foxconn said Wednesday that it was shifting the focus of the Wisconsin project away from making high-tech flat panel screens for televisions and other products in favor of a research and development hub. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File) In this June 28, 2018 photo, President Donald Trump takes a tour of Foxconn with Foxconn chairman Terry Gou, right, and CEO of SoftBank Masayoshi Son in Mt. Pleasant, Wis. Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers' administration and Foxconn Technology Group say that a massive project planned for the state is moving forward, while disputing Republicans who blamed the new Democratic governor for a change in direction away from manufacturing toward more white collar jobs. Foxconn said Wednesday that it was shifting the focus of the Wisconsin project away from making high-tech flat panel screens for televisions and other products in favor of a research and development hub. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

By Associated Press February 1, 2019 4 min read

MADISON, Wis. (AP) – Foxconn Technology Group has shifted its stated strategy yet again on Friday for a massive Wisconsin campus, crediting a conversation with President Donald Trump for cementing plans to proceed with building a factory to make high-tech liquid display screens.

The news capped a week of confusion about Foxconn’s plans in Wisconsin. The company announced in 2017, to much fanfare, that it planned to invest $10 billion in the state and hire 13,000 people to build an LCD factory that could make screens for televisions and a variety of other devices.

The company last year said it was reducing the scale of what was to be made in Wisconsin, from what is known as a Gen 10 factory to Gen 6. But this week, even that was thrown into question with Foxconn executive Louis Woo said it couldn’t compete in the television screen market and would not be making LCD panels in Wisconsin.

But on Friday, in yet another twist, Foxconn said after discussions with the White House and a personal conversation between Trump and Foxconn chairman Terry Gou, it plans to proceed with the smaller manufacturing facility.

“Great news on Foxconn in Wisconsin after my conversation with Terry Gou!” Trump tweeted.