White House making jobs announcement regarding Foxconn's plans in Wisconsin
The White House says President Trump will participate in a jobs announcement Wednesday and Governor Scott Walker has tweeted that he will be in attendance.
Major Jobs Announcement for Wisconsin today at 4:00pm CT at the @WhiteHouse with @POTUS
— Governor Walker (@GovWalker) July 26, 2017
The release from the White House does not say whose jobs announcement it is, but people are already trying to connect the dots and speculate that it's about Foxconn. The Taiwan manufacturer has expressed interest with several states for a new plant which would bring an estimated 10,000 jobs.
The announcement is in Washington, D.C. but there's hope that southeast Wisconsin is the place foxconn picks.
Neighbors just south of Highway 20 tell CBS 58 they've heard the rumbling that this could be the potential location of a giant Foxconn facility. But none of them said they know any details.
Acres of corn and large pumpkin patches cover some of this area to the east of I-94 where Foxconn could choose to locate. Passersby might recognize this area as the spot with the Abandoned Haunted House, but people around here who we spoke to say they don't know anything about the future facility.
Tom Still with the Wisconsin Technology Council says he expects it's not even close to being a done deal and possibly and expensive deal, "The average over a half dozen or so of these examples over time has been about $300,000 or so per job, spread over a lot of years. For example, maybe 20-30 years."
Foxconn, best known for its connection to Apple's iPhones, would mean a boost in high-paying engineer jobs for the region. That's what Caledonia state representative Thomas Weatherston hopes. But as a Republican, even he says he hasn't seen an incentive plan proposal, "I would agree it's been one of those very open and public secrets. And the deal is probably not even done."
That proposal is expected to be unveiled within 48 hours.
Democrat state senator from Milwaukee Lena Taylor says that the negotiations with the company have not been transparent enough for her liking. She would prefer some oversight in the process.
Representative Weatherston also said he hopes the incentive package is tied to the number of actually jobs created.
No one knows yet how big the incentive package would be to lure Foxconn to Wisconsin, but Tom Still from the Wisconsin Technology Council has an interesting take on Wisconsin's bargaining position, "Other states I'm quite certain will wind up outbidding Wisconsin. But if we win this and Foxconn does decide to plant a flag in Wisconsin, I think it's going to be more about some intangibles that we have here in the state.as a workforce and as a culture."
Leaders in Wisconsin, like Governor Scott Walker and Mayor Barrett of Milwaukee have talked about some of those intangibles, like the quality of the work force here and the availability of fresh water.
CBS 58’s political reporter David Ade is traveling to D.C. for the announcement which will be carried live on the CBS 58 News at 4:00 PM.