Foxconn And Apple Ponder $7 Billion U.S. Display Factory With Potential For 50,000 Jobs
It’s expected that investment in the facility will top $7 billion, and that long-time partner Apple will assist Foxconn in its funding, construction and operation. "Apple is willing to invest in the facility together because they need the [panels] as well," said Foxconn Chairman Terry Gou.
The facility could have the capacity to sustain 30,000 to 50,000 jobs in the U.S., with Gou adding that such a move was “inevitable” due to the increasing rhetoric concerning protectionism. However, he went on to say that Americans might not be prepared for the consequences of U.S. production for their devices.
"In the future they may be paying some $500 more for [U.S.] products, but those do not necessarily work better than a $300 phone," Gou explained. And any decision to build a factory would rely heavily on incentives from local government to make future U.S. investments worthwhile for Foxconn and Apple.
Foxconn is also eyeing investments in the state of Pennsylvania, as government officials are courting the Chinese firm to build a proposed molding facility there. Pennsylvania has been hard hit with job losses, and was a critical swing state that fell into the “Win” column for Trump in November.
President Donald Trump has taken a tough stance against American companies that produce their products in other countries, and then turn around and sell them here in the United States. While on the campaign trail in January 2016, Trump proclaimed, “We're gonna get Apple to start building their damn computers and things in this country, instead of in other countries.”
Following his presidential victory in November, Trump followed up, stating, “I got a call from Tim Cook at Apple, and I said, ‘Tim, you know one of the things that will be a real achievement for me is when I get Apple to build a big plant in the United States, or many big plants in the United States, where instead of going to China, and going to Vietnam, and going to the places that you go to, you’re making your product right here.’”
