Foxconn considers 7 states for first U.S. iPhone factory

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iPhone sales drive Apple’s biggest supplier to big profits
Foxconn's first U.S. factory is on the way.
Photo: CBS

Foxconn CEO Terry Gou said that Foxcon is currently weighing up the pros and cons of seven possible states in which to set up its first U.S.-based factory.

These states include Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana and Texas, all of which were chosen because — in Gou’s words — “they are the heart of the country’s manufacturing sector.”

According to Gou, “We are bringing the entire industrial chain back to the traditional manufacturing region of the U.S. That may include display making, semiconductor packaging and cloud-related technologies.” Foxconn’s total investment in the U.S. would be in the region of $10 billion, with $7 billion of this earmarked for a display factory.

The project to bring Foxconn to the U.S. has been internally labelled “Flying Eagle,” and will reportedly create “tens of thousands” of American jobs. In previous interviews, he has put the number between 30,000 and 50,000 American jobs.

This would fit with President Donald Trump’s bid to bring manufacturing jobs back to the U.S. Apple’s Tim Cook, on the other hand, has previously claimed that China makes a lot more sense as a manufacturing hub for Apple — not just because labor costs are significantly less, but because of the country’s great number of skilled workers, too.

This was echoed by Cook’s precursor, Steve Jobs. When answering a question in 2010 from President Barack Obama about the shuttering of U.S. factories in favor of overseas production, Jobs said, “Those jobs aren’t coming back.”

Foxconn, however, has argued that it makes more sense to produce displays in the United States because it would save on shipping from China to the U.S. market.

The Toshiba bid

In the same interview with investors, Terry Gou briefly discussed the news that a consortium of tech companies, led by Foxconn, is currently in the process of bidding to acquire Toshiba’s semiconductor business. Other companies that are part of the consortium reportedly include Apple, possibly Amazon, Dell, Google, Microsoft and Cisco.

Despite the impressive name power involved in the consortium, however, the Japanese government has said it will block any deal that risks key chip technology being transferred out of the country.

In his conversation today, Gou said that, “I believe we still have a big chance” and blamed a “minority of bureaucrats” for trying to scupper the deal.

Source: Bloomberg

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