Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), known internationally as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), is considering scaling back or even abandoning plans to make cutting-edge displays from a US$10 billion plant it is building in the US, Reuters reported.
Such a move could undermine promises to create 13,000 jobs at a project hailed by US President Donald Trump for reviving US manufacturing.
Apple Inc’s main manufacturing partner is rethinking its approach because of the high cost of making advanced TV screens in the US, Reuters cited Foxconn executive Louis Woo (胡國輝), a special assistant to chairman Terry Gou (郭台銘), as saying.
Photo: AFP
Hon Hai unveiled the Wisconsin project with much fanfare in 2017 as the firm extracted a raft of incentives from the state, although some were forfeited last year after falling short of hiring goals.
The company is in a particularly precarious position as the US and China wage an escalating battle over trade. It does most of its manufacturing in China, sells products to Americans and faces pressure from both sides to maintain or create new jobs.
Hon Hai now intends to turn the Wisconsin site into a base for mostly engineers and researchers, Reuters cited Woo as saying.
It would also produce specialized products for industrial, healthcare and professional applications, he said.
“In terms of TV, we have no place in the US,” Woo was cited as saying. “We can’t compete.”
“When it comes to manufacturing advanced screens for TVs, if a certain size of display has more supply, whether from China or Japan or Taiwan, we have to change, too,” he told Reuters.
Rather than manufacturing LCD panels in the US, it would be more profitable to make them in greater China and Japan, ship them to Mexico for final assembly, and import the finished product to the US, he said.
That would represent a supply chain that fits with Foxconn’s current “fluid, good business model,” he said.
Doubt is growing about Foxconn’s ability to meet its hiring commitments.
Wisconsin State Assembly Minority Leader Gordon Hintz expressed concerns that Hon Hai would fall far short, under a deal regarded as the richest tax credit, exemption and subsidy package in state history.
The concern came into focus in a letter to Wisconsin Economic Development Corp, in which Hon Hai confirmed that it missed job-creation targets for last year.
The firm might be prepared to walk away from future incentives if it is unable to meet Wisconsin’s job creation and capital investment requirements, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters.
Company representatives did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Hon Hai’s potential retreat from its signature US project comes as demand for Apple’s iPhone — and smartphones in general — is flagging.
Hon Hai gets about half its revenue from its US client. It assembles everything from iPhones and laptop computers to Sony Corp PlayStations at factories in China and around the world.
In November last year, Bloomberg News reported that the company was planning a steep reduction in its expenses this year. That same month, the company posted earnings about 12 percent below expectations.
Additional reporting by staff writer
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft