Apple supplier makes choice for U.S. home: Ohio in mix for next plant

President Donald Trump said Wednesday that Electronics giant Foxconn will build a $10 billion factory in Wisconsin that’s expected to create 3,000 jobs.

The announcement comes at a critical juncture for a Trump administration that pledged to generate manufacturing jobs but has struggled to deliver results as quickly as the president promised. Trump’s plans for health care and tax cuts face an uncertain future in Congress, while his administration is bogged down by an investigation into Russia’s possible ties with his presidential campaign.

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The factory will produce liquid-crystal display panels that are used in televisions and computer screens, according to a senior White House official who insisted on anonymity to discuss the announcement. Foxconn will locate its plant in the congressional district of U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan, although the official declined to provide a specific location.

Foxconn could eventually employ 13,000 workers at the factory, the official said. This would mark a substantial gain for a state that currently has 472,000 manufacturing jobs and is still recovering from factory layoffs — including the closure of a General Motors plant in Ryan’s hometown — that hit after the 2008 financial crisis.

Taiwan-based Foxconn is perhaps best known for assembling Apple iPhones in China.

The official said the White House was closely involved in Foxconn’s decision to locate a factory in the United States and that the president had met personally with Foxconn chairman Terry Gou.

Seven states had competed for the Foxconn plant. The administration said it did not help steer Foxconn to Wisconsin in what would appear to be a victory for both Trump and the state’s Republican governor, Scott Walker, who is up for re-election next year.

Foxconn did not immediately return messages seeking comment Wednesday. Other states vying for the plant are Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Texas.

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Ohio remains in the running to attract a plant from electronics giant Foxconn, even with the announcement Wednesday that the company plans to build in Wisconsin.

Meanwhile, Foxconn continues to explore building a plant in central Ohio, according to a Columbus Dispatch report.

A source told the The Dispatch that Alex Fischer, president of the Columbus Partnership representing central Ohio business leaders, was seen Wednesday at John Glenn Columbus International Airport with a delegation of Asian executives here to look at development sites.

Columbus is “far from out,” said the source, adding that otherwise, “I don’t think they would be in Columbus three hours before an announcement.”

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