Foxconn fesses up

It is news that should surprise no one. In fact, it may not even be considered news that Foxconn is once again falling short of its plans to create jobs in Wisconsin. The Taiwanese company promised a $10 billion investment and the creation of 10,000 jobs when the deal was announced one year ago. Since then, no plant has been built, and barely 150 people have been hired. Now, Governor Tony Evers tells CNBC he has spoken with Foxconn executives who tell him the Wisconsin plant will be much smaller than originally planned, and will employ far fewer people. Evers says he was told the project’s first phase will employ about 1500 people when production begins, scheduled for next May. But Foxconn says it “remains committed” to the long-term goal of creating 13,000 jobs in Wisconsin. That is like me saying I am committed to running a marathon someday, but have no plans to start training. This deal could end up being good for Wisconsin taxpayers, as we were told it would be, but so are the signs are not encouraging.