What They Say
The Verge published a detailed report on the failure of the planned Foxconn LCD fab in Wisconsin. The company’s application for subsidies has been rejected as the number of employees was only 281 by the end of 2019, although the Verge said that they were employed, but had no work to do. The report said that state and local government spent $400 million on land and infrastructure that is likely never to be needed.
What We Think
Really, that this project foundered is no real surprise. As I said in 2017 (Is a Foxconn US LCD Fab A Possibility?() I doubted that a successful project for TV panels would happen. I thought it might evolve into a fab for other applications such as Automotive. However, Foxconn has real challenges in its panel business and I can understand that sorting out that business makes a lot more sense than this politically-motivated stunt.
Bob O’Brien of DSCC wrote about this topic, and he has been very close to it. BR)
