DSCC Signs Contract to Advise Wisconsin Governor on Renegotiated Foxconn Deal

Display Supply Chain Consultants recently signed a contract to advise Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers (D) as his administration renegotiates the state's deal with Foxconn to build a Gen 6 LCD fab in Mount Pleasant, near Racine (see 1904190038), President Bob O’Brien told us Tuesday at the 8K Display Summit. Foxconn’s original contract with the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. called for the state to pay the company up to $3 billion in prorated cash subsidies if it built a Gen 10.5 fab and hired 13,000 employees. After Foxconn downsized the project to Gen 6, it approached the Evers administration about renegotiating the deal, because “with the existing contract, Foxconn might not get any subsidies,” said O'Brien. “The number of jobs is going to be a lot lower than 13,000.” DSCC will advise the governor on trends in the display industry, not on recommended terms in the renegotiated contract, he said. “The governor’s office and most American people don’t have flat-panel display expertise. We’ll be helping them to understand what is characteristic in the flat-panel display industry.” To O'Brien's understanding, DSCC's contract will involve reviewing documents germane to the Foxconn project but no face-to-face contact with Foxconn officials, he said. Representatives of the governor’s office didn’t comment Wednesday. O'Brien visited Mount Pleasant last weekend and found "a tremendous amount of activity going on" at the site, he said. "It's all infrastructure. I was there at 7:30 on a Saturday morning and they had trucks moving dirt."