Walker Calls Latest Foxconn Expansion The 'Foxconn Bonus'
(WPR; AP)---Foxconn Technology Group is setting up a headquarters in downtown Milwaukee with an eye toward attracting and retaining younger workers and harnessing innovation.
The Taiwan-based electronics manufacturing giant plans to buy a seven-story office building at 611 E. Wisconsin Ave. from Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co. for an undisclosed price.
The new headquarters, called Foxconn Place, will house an innovation center, incubators, venture capital activities and more, Louis Woo, a Foxconn executive, said Tuesday at the announcement made in the new Northwestern Mutual Building near downtown.
The company's investment into the city was made Tuesday afternoon, with Gov. Scott Walker, Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele, other elected officials, and Northwestern Mutual and Foxconn officials in attendance.
Foxconn is building a factory in Racine County to make liquid crystal display panels for commercial and consumer uses, including televisions.
Foxconn's $10 billion, 13,000-employee complex will be built in Mount Pleasant but the company had yet to say where office headquarters will be located.
The location of the headquarters in Milwaukee is strategic, Woo said. The goal is for Foxconn Place to be a "magnet" to attract and retain talent from other states, and graduates from colleges and universities across the state.
Before ending his remarks, Woo thanked Walker for his commitment to Wisconsin.
"Without him I would not be here today. He’s really the architect, the dominant figure, and also the person, the force behind all the reasons we’re here today," Woo said of Walker.
Walker on Tuesday dubbed Foxconn's latest expansion the "Foxconn bonus," adding that Foxconn's footprint in Wisconsin is going to keep growing.
Abele and Northwestern Mutual CEO and Chairman John Schlifske applauded Foxconn's move into downtown Milwaukee because of the jobs and opportunities the headquarters will bring.
"We will do absolutely everything we can to make it a success," Abele said on behalf of the county's efforts.
"I can promise you, this is not the beginning of something little, but something very, very big.
Wisconsin Public Radio, © Copyright 2018, Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System and Wisconsin Educational Communications Board. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
