On Wednesday, Gov. Tony Evers said it's "unrealistic" to think that Foxconn Technology Group will employ 13,000 people in Wisconsin, given that the size of its planned manufacturing facility has been reduced.
Evers told reporters Wednesday that the state was working with Foxconn to look at revising the original contract given the changes to the project.
The company released a statement Thursday.
Here is the statement from the Foxconn Technology Group:
"Foxconn remains committed to our contract with the State of Wisconsin, as well as continuing to work with Governor Evers and his team in a forthcoming and transparent manner. While we continue our weekly engagement with the Evers Administration, especially through the Department of Administration and the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC), we are open to further consultation, collaboration, and new ideas.
"Our investment in Wisconsin is driven by our vision to help the Badger state create an advanced high-tech ecosystem, thus establishing Wisconsin as a global technology hub, not only through the Wisconn Valley Science and Technology Park (WVSTP), but also through our extensive investments that go beyond the WEDC contract, including our statewide network of Wisconn Valley Innovation Centers, the $100M research partnership with UW-Madison for Foxconn Institute for Research in Science and Technology (FIRST), our partnerships with students, staff and faculty in higher education via the $1M Smart Cities Smart Futures competition, and the $100M Wisconn Valley Venture Fund.
"Since 2017, Foxconn has proven to be a key partner to many local academic, civic and business communities in Wisconsin, especially where public-private partnerships are critical to long term success, as evidenced in Foxconn’s recent support for the City of Racine to compete in the Smart Cities Readiness Challenge. As announced by the Smart City Council in San Diego on April 16, we congratulate Racine in becoming one of only 5 winners amongst more than 100 cities and municipalities in North America.
"Foxconn’s commitment to job creation in Wisconsin remains long term and will span over the length of the WEDC contract and beyond. The first phase of construction on the WVSTP campus is beginning anew after the winter break. Construction on the TFT-LCD manufacturing facility will commence this summer. We look forward to continuing to honor our Wisconsin First promise as we select partners for this next major chapter of our investment."
