Gov. Tony Evers’ top aide warned Foxconn Technology Group last month that a scaled-down factory in Wisconsin won’t qualify for tax credits unless the Taiwanese electronics giant renegotiates with the state, letters Evers’ administration released Friday show.
State Department of Administration Secretary Joel Brennan wrote to Foxconn Industrial Internet Chief Business Officer Richard Vincent on Nov. 4 warning that the new project doesn’t qualify for incentives under the existing contract. Foxconn’s U.S. strategist, Alan Yeung, responded to Brennan’s letter by accusing Evers’ administration of wasting the company’s time with contract arguments.
“Distractions like these leave job creators and job seekers wondering if doing business in our great state is welcomed by Governor Evers’ Administration (sic),” Yeung wrote in a Nov. 18 letter to Brennan.
The letters chronicle discussions between Evers, Brennan, Foxconn executives and leaders of the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation, the state’s quasi-public job-creation agency, dating back to April.
“We want to work together with you to help make Foxconn’s new project as successful as possible,” Brennan wrote. “The ability to do that requires Foxconn to recognize that there are consequences arising from its unilateral decision to change projects well after the Contract was in place.”