Tom Daykin
Foxconn Technology Group's Wisconsin operations − which shrank from an envisioned transformational development to an ordinary contract manufacturer − have been approved for $8.75 million in annual state tax credits, according to a new state agency report.
The tax credits are for employing 1,114 full-time workers and investing $24.6 million at Foxconn's Racine County operations in 2023, according to the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. report.
Taiwan-based Foxconn in 2023 received $6.3 million in tax credits. It had 1,029 full-time workers and invested more than $26 million at its Mount Pleasant facilities in 2022, according to WEDC.
Then-Gov. Scott Walker and Foxconn in 2017 agreed to a $2.85 billion tax incentive package − including state and local funds − if the company met annual hiring and capital investment goals.
Foxconn promised to bring 13,000 high-tech jobs to Wisconsin and create a massive large-screen LCD manufacturing facility in Mount Pleasant.
But those plans failed to materialize, and Foxconn instead shifted to contract manufacturing.
A 2021 renegotiated agreement under Gov. Tony Evers' administration allows the company to receive up to $80 million in state tax credits through 2025.
In return, the job target was reduced from 13,000 to 1,454, and Foxconn's estimated capital investment was cut from $10 billion to $672 million.
The company so far has received tax credits totaling $52.5 million since 2000, WEDC records show.
Meanwhile, much of the land acquired for Foxconn has since been sold to Microsoft Corp. for its data center campus.
In May, Microsoft announced it would spend $3.3 billion by 2026 to build a first phase of the project, a threefold increase from the $1 billion it initially said it would spend.
That investment by Microsoft is expected to generate enough property tax revenue to pay back the money spent by Racine County and the Village of Mount Pleasant to acquire land and build roads, sewers, and other infrastructure for the original Foxconn development plan.
Foxconn didn't immediately respond to the Journal Sentinel's request for comment on the latest tax credit award.
Tom Daykin can be emailed at tdaykin@jrn.com and followed on Instagram,Bluesky, X and Facebook.
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