Foxconn Factory Fiasco Could Leave Wisonsinites On the Hook For $300 Million

An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Register: For five years, Foxconn promised and spectacularly failed to build a much-hyped sprawling factory near Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin. Now, the area's leaders may be saddled with $300 million in bond repayments that the Taiwanese iPhone maker had promised to repay. According to the Wall Street Journal, Foxconn agreed to pay $36 million annually across a 20-year term to pay for the surrounding infrastructure supporting the now-abandoned 3,000-acre site. Those payments are scheduled to start next tax year, and local leaders told the newspaper they're counting on Foxconn's cash to maintain the site while they try to attract another occupant. Finding an occupant hasn't been easy. Intel, which announced a $20 billion investment in two chip factories in Ohio in January, was also considering Wisconsin for the project, with its focus on Racine, the nearest large city to the proposed Foxconn plant. The other option to cover the costs would be a total Foxconn pullout, which state officials said would let the government sell the land, assessed at a value of over $500 million. Ultimately, we're told, Foxconn promised to cough up $300 million to cover bonds for the infrastructure, whether the plant went ahead or not, but with that deal in tatters, it's now not clear if the money will be paid.

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