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How Foxconn's broken pledges in Pennsylvania cast doubt on Trump's jobs plan
Ahead of today's jobs announcement, revisit this @tcfrankel piece:
Link to tweet
How Foxconn’s broken pledges in Pennsylvania cast doubt on Trump’s jobs plan
By Todd C. Frankel March 3
HARRISBURG, Pa. — For some residents of this small city, there was something familiar about Foxconn’s recently announced plan to hire up to 50,000 U.S. workers, one of the many hiring pledges from companies rounded up by President Trump in the first weeks of his administration. ... The only difference was the scale.
In 2013, Foxconn’s chairman sent a jolt through this state capital when he said his company — best known for making Apple iPhones in China — would invest $30 million and hire 500 workers for a new high-tech factory in central Pennsylvania.
Locals were giddy. Foxconn had a small office here, but this seemed like the start of an entire new industry. Pennsylvania’s governor boasted about the deal. The Brookings Institution think tank hailed Foxconn’s decision as a sign of U.S. manufacturing’s strength.
But the factory was never built. The jobs never came. “It just seemed to fade to black” after the announcement, recalled a local official. It was the start of a mystery, created by a chief executive known to promise projects all over the world that never quite pan out. Yet few people seem to notice. Foxconn and others continue to get credit for deals that never take place. In December, Pennsylvania’s economic development staff was still touting the $30 million factory that never was.
....
Todd C. Frankel is a reporter covering people and policy. Follow @tcfrankel
By Todd C. Frankel March 3
HARRISBURG, Pa. — For some residents of this small city, there was something familiar about Foxconn’s recently announced plan to hire up to 50,000 U.S. workers, one of the many hiring pledges from companies rounded up by President Trump in the first weeks of his administration. ... The only difference was the scale.
In 2013, Foxconn’s chairman sent a jolt through this state capital when he said his company — best known for making Apple iPhones in China — would invest $30 million and hire 500 workers for a new high-tech factory in central Pennsylvania.
Locals were giddy. Foxconn had a small office here, but this seemed like the start of an entire new industry. Pennsylvania’s governor boasted about the deal. The Brookings Institution think tank hailed Foxconn’s decision as a sign of U.S. manufacturing’s strength.
But the factory was never built. The jobs never came. “It just seemed to fade to black” after the announcement, recalled a local official. It was the start of a mystery, created by a chief executive known to promise projects all over the world that never quite pan out. Yet few people seem to notice. Foxconn and others continue to get credit for deals that never take place. In December, Pennsylvania’s economic development staff was still touting the $30 million factory that never was.
....
Todd C. Frankel is a reporter covering people and policy. Follow @tcfrankel
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