Latest Foxconn news still fails to impress

We’ve been critical of the Foxconn development, and for good reason. The state’s pledge to help fund the so-called eighth wonder of the world was too generous, the plans too ambitious, and the results too dismal. When the deal was made, Foxconn had promised to spend $10 billion on the project and hire up to 10,000 employees. In return, the state promised up to $3 billion in taxpayer-funded subsidies to reward them for job creation. Since then the company has failed to make good on its promises and the parts of the plant that have been built sit largely empty. But now for the second time since the deal was struck, Foxconn has met enough benchmarks to allow the Taiwanese company to receive state subsidies. On Friday it was announced that Foxconn has created enough jobs to secure $8.5 million in state subsidies after creating 758 eligible jobs and spending $77 million in capital investments. That is a positive sign. But we’re certainly not ready to call this a success. The company has significantly backed off its earlier promises and has reworked its deal with the state to reflect the smaller scale of development. And let’s not forget, Foxconn is still not making anything at its Mt Pleasant facility and seems no closer to determining what it even hopes to make there. The latest job creation numbers may be promising, but this project is far from becoming the latest wonder of the world.