Original players nearly all gone in Foxconn deal

It has been almost one year to the day that President Donald Trump and former Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker dug their gold shovels into the earth to break ground for a massive Foxconn plant in Wisconsin. Visibly, not much has changed. There is only one building constructed so far in Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin. Hardly the $10 billion investment Foxconn promised. And the company hasn’t hired nearly as many workers as they told us they would. But, still, much has changed for Foxconn, and Wisconsin. Foxconn’s revenues are down, due in part to slumping Apple sales, and new tariffs on Chinese products. The President of Foxconn is no longer running the company, and instead is running for President of Taiwan. Scott Walker is no longer Governor of Wisconsin, and the head of the Wisconsin Economic Development Council is soon to leave that post. So with the exception of President Trump, all who brokered the deal are now gone. That alone is enough reason for the state to renegotiate its contract with Foxconn. There have also been many changes in the last 12 months. The company’s plans have changed multiple times. We still don’t know what they plan to build there, how much they will invest, or how many people they will employ. But the initial contract, calling for 13,000 jobs, $10 billion in investment, and $4 billion in state subsidies remains in place. The contract between Wisconsin and Foxconn needs to reflect reality, whatever that is today.