Time to find out what’s really going on with Foxconn

Perhaps now we will finally get some answers.  Foxconn says it has, for the first time, hired enough people to be eligible for state aid. The Taiwan-based company, recipient of the state’s largest ever corporate subsidy package, had initially promised to bring 13,000 jobs to Wisconsin. Now Foxconn says it has hired a total of 800 people. That’s a big gap in numbers, but it would be enough to secure some of the job credits. The state says it will still need to verify the job numbers and review eligibility, a process that could take months. This should be an opportunity to learn where this whole project really stands. The contract still calls for Foxconn to make huge glass panels for televisions, but that has morphed into making smaller screens instead. It is not clear that a single screen has ever been produced. Many buildings Foxconn purchased in cities like Eau Claire, Green Bay, Madison and Milwaukee, largely sit empty, with little sign of activity. Wisconsin taxpayers, potentially on the hook for $3 billion in tax credits, deserve to know just what we are getting for our money. The company says it plans to have its manufacturing facility open by the end of this year. That would be great news. But so far little has turned out as promised.