Apple Supplier Foxconn Considering Wisconsin Manufacturing Plant

Apple supplier Foxconn has been considering opening a facility in the United States, and the company is investigating Wisconsin as one possible location, reports The Associated Press.

According to an unspecified person with direct knowledge” of the negotiations, the state of Wisconsin is currently in talks with Foxconn.

Michigan is also said to be pursuing the Foxconn plant.

Rumors suggesting Foxconn might open a United States factory first surfaced last November, after Apple reportedly asked suppliers Foxconn and Pegatron to look into the feasibility of producing iPhones in the United States.

President Donald Trump alluded to negotiations with an unspecified company during a visit to Milwaukee on Tuesday, saying [Wisconsin Governor] Walker might get “a very happy surprise very soon.” Trump said “we were negotiating with a major, major incredible manufacturer of phones and computers and televisions.”

Foxconn in January confirmed that it was mulling a $7 billion joint investment with Apple for a U.S. factory that would produce displays.

Foxconn chairman Terry Gou said that a U.S. display facility could make sense given the increase in demand for larger display panels, but he did express some concerns over the skill of the workforce in the U.S. and negotiating a deal with the government. 

Foxconn has reportedly been in talks with both the U.S. federal government and individual state governments for several months over the facility, which, if established, could be used to manufacture displays for the iPhone, iPad, and MacBook. 

Gou in January also said Foxconn is planning to establish a new molding facility in the United States, with Pennsylvania cited as a possible location.

It is not clear if Wisconsin will be the home of the molding facility or the display facility built in partnership with Apple.

Related Article: Why Old-Fashioned Manufacturing Jobs Won’t Be Returning to the Western World

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