The Tech Skills Gap Will Test Foxconn's New Wisconsin Factory

Taiwanese electronics juggernaut and leading Apple supplier Foxconn announced Wednesday that it intends to invest $10 billion in a new manufacturing plant in Wisconsin, where it plans to make LCD panels bound for computers, healthcare devices, and even vehicles. The White House touted the announcement as a victory for senior adviser Jared Kushner's Office of American Innovation, and marked it as a milestone in President Trump's promise to bring manufacturing back to the United States. "Foxconn joins a growing list of industry leaders who understand that America's capabilities are limitless and that America's workers are unmatched," President Trump said at the White House announcement, flanked by House Speaker Paul Ryan, Wisconsin governor Scott Walker, and Foxconn chairman Terry Gou. Yet, the 3,000 jobs Foxconn says it will create in Wisconsin aren't the kind of manufacturing jobs that so many laid off auto and steel workers have been clamoring for. Nor are they a pathway to the American-made iPhone President Trump promised during the 2016 election.