Home » Uncategorized » Foxconn is considering investing $7 billion to build a new factory in cooperation with Apple

Foxconn is considering investing $7 billion to build a new factory in cooperation with Apple

As the new year Rolls further, Tech giants are speeding up

collaborations to Remain at the top of business in the

telecommunications sector. As we all know, ICT happens to rule the

world as the world today runs businesses Digitally

According to source,

Chinese manufacturing giant Foxconn is

considering investing $7 billion to build a new

factory in the US assembling flat panel

screens. Reports from The Wall Street Journal

and the Nikkei Asian Review say Foxconn

chairman Terry Gou discussed the plans at a

company event this weekend, speculating that

the factory could create 30,000 to 50,000 new

jobs. Foxconn has been considering building

such a facility in the US since 2014 , and Gou

said if the company were to make the move

now, it would need substantial incentives from

the government in the form of access to

cheap land and power.

The new factory might be a joint investment

with Apple. "Apple is willing to invest in the

facility together because they need the

[panels] as well," said Gou according to the

Nikkei Asian Review . Foxconn is Apple's

biggest manufacturing partner and runs the

largest iPhone factory in the world with

substantial tax breaks from the Chinese

government. Any investment by Apple in the

project would be a political victory for

President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly

railed against the iPhone-maker for

outsourcing jobs to China. We've reached out

to Apple to confirm Gou's comments and will

update this story if and when we hear back.

Gou said that the rise of this sort of

protectionism is "inevitable," but questioned

whether US consumers would be happy to

absorb the cost of moving jobs back home.

"In the future they may be paying some $500

more for [U.S.] products, but those do not

necessarily work better than a $300 phone,"

said Gou.

Bloomberg reports that the new facility would

also involve Japanese display manufacturer

Sharp, which Foxconn bought last year for

$3.5 billion . This isn't the first we've heard of

these plans, as Foxconn's logo (as well as

the $7 billion figure) both appeared in a

presentation to journalists by SoftBank CEO

Masayoshi Son last December . In the same

presentation it was announced that SoftBank

would invest $50 billion in the US over the

next four years.

Gou said that a US factory making displays

would be beneficial to Foxconn by cutting

down on shipping costs, but stressed the

company would need financial incentives for

the deal to make economic sense. He added

that the state of Pennsylvania — which Trump

became the first Republican candidate to win

since 1988, in part due to his pledge to bring

jobs back to the area — was currently ahead

in the bid to win Foxconn's investment. "Right

now Pennsylvania is very proactive," said

Gou. "I have to tell other states to hurry up or

we'll go ahead and sign with Pennsylvania."


Apple and Samsung supplier Foxconn has

reportedly replaced 60,000 factory workers with

robots.

One factory has "reduced employee strength

from 110,000 to 50,000 thanks to the

introduction of robots", a government official told

the South China Morning Post .

Xu Yulian, head of publicity for the Kunshan

region, added: "More companies are likely to

follow suit."

China is investing heavily in a robot workforce.

In a statement to the BBC, Foxconn Technology

Group confirmed that it was automating "many

of the manufacturing tasks associated with our

operations" but denied that it meant long-term

job losses.

"We are applying robotics engineering and other

innovative manufacturing technologies to replace

repetitive tasks previously done by employees,

and through training, also enable our employees

to focus on higher value-added elements in the

manufacturing process, such as research and

development, process control and quality control.

"We will continue to harness automation and

manpower in our manufacturing operations, and

we expect to maintain our significant workforce

in China."

Since September 2014, 505 factories across

Dongguan, in the Guangdong province, have

invested 4.2bn yuan (£430m) in robots, aiming to

replace thousands of workers.

Kunshan, Jiangsu province, is a manufacturing

hub for the electronics industry.

Economists have issued dire warnings about how

automation will affect the job market, with one

report, from consultants Deloitte in partnership

with Oxford University, suggesting that 35% of

jobs were at risk over the next 20 years.

Former McDonald's chief executive Ed Rensi

recently told the US's Fox Business programme

a minimum-wage increase to $15 an hour would

make companies consider robot workers.

"It's cheaper to buy a $35,000 robotic arm than

it is to hire an employee who is inefficient,

making $15 an hour bagging French fries," he

said.

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