Gov. Scott Walker: Give Kimberly-Clark Foxconn-style deal to keep paper plants open

MADISON - Gov. Scott Walker called Monday for giving paper-maker Kimberly-Clark Foxconn-sized job incentives to avoid the closure of plants in Neenah and Fox Crossing.

As Democratic lawmakers were announcing their own Kimberly-Clark plan, the GOP governor called for passing legislation to allow the state to give the paper company the same level of tax credits per job as Foxconn.

Walker and Republican leaders have said they were willing to provide unprecedented tax credits to Foxconn because the deal with the high-tech company would be "transformational" for the state's economy. Walker is now saying he's willing to provide similar incentives for an industry that, while critical to the state, has shed thousands of jobs in recent years.

"To keep 600 jobs here in Wisconsin, I asked the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation to offer Kimberly-Clark the same deal for jobs as Foxconn," Walker tweeted.

More than 600 people are employed at the Kimberly-Clark plants, which make non-woven fabric products and Depend adult diapers respectively. The company previously announced a plan to cut as many as 5,000 jobs globally and there could still be more job losses in Wisconsin.

RELATED: Kimberly-Clark closing two Wisconsin plants, cutting 600 jobs

More: Lawmakers call for $60 million in aid to shore up ailing paper industry

More: Foxconn package cost Wisconsin eight times as much per job as similar 2017 state jobs deals

Walker sent out his tweet as Fox Valley Democrats separately called for helping keep the Kimberly-Clark plants open by providing $60 million — or 2% of what could be spent on Foxconn. Under their proposal, the state would provide $30 million each for two revolving loan programs, one to help mills invest in energy and water efficiency and another to help mills shift from making white paper products to brown ones.

“I understand marketplace dynamics; I know that industries change. But I also understand that if the state of Wisconsin can muster $3 billion for a (Taiwanese) company, it can spare (two) percent for one of its own,” Outagamie County Executive Thomas Nelson said in a statement.

Foxconn Technology Group of Taiwan secured up to $3 billion in tax credits to open a flat-screen plant in Racine County that could cost as much as $10 billion and employ up to 13,000 people.

Foxconn could receive more than eight times as much per job as similar 2017 deals. Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. spokesman Mark Maley justified those incentives last week by saying that Foxconn represented a "once-in-a-generation opportunity ... unlike that of any other project in the state’s history."

Democrats and some economists have questioned whether the Foxconn package would lead to the state increasing subsidies for other companies, as well.

Assembly Minority Leader Gordon Hintz (D-Oshkosh) said that Walker was simply reacting to events rather than showing leadership on the economy.

“This sounds more like someone who is caught off-guard and is defensive,” Hintz said of Walker’s Kimberly-Clark proposal.

Last fall, lawmakers and Walker passed for Foxconn a one-time expansion of the state's enterprise zone program, which requires companies to demonstrate investments and job creation before getting state tax credits.

Typically, an enterprise zone employer must first pay workers at least $30,000 a year to qualify for jobs tax credits. The credits phase out for salaries above $100,000.

The state agreed to cover 17% of these qualifying Foxconn salaries instead of the usual 7%. Walker proposed legislation Monday that would also allow Kimberly-Clark to receive 17 cents back for every $1 it pays in qualifying wages at the two plants.

“Retaining outstanding Wisconsin companies like Kimberly-Clark is just as important as attracting new companies to our state, which is why I’m proposing we offer larger tax credits," Walker said in a statement.

The tax credits would not be paid out to Kimberly-Clark unless they are approved by lawmakers and then accepted and earned by the company through wages paid out to workers. Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald (R-Juneau) and Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) had no comment on Walker's proposal.

Under that plan, the state would give Kimberly-Clark $8,500 in tax credits if the company paid a worker $50,000 in annual wages.

As manufacturers in Wisconsin, both Foxconn and Kimberly-Clark pay little to no corporate and personal income tax on profits from those operations. That means that any potential enterprise zone credits could end up being paid to each company in cash if it has little corporate tax liability.

Forestry, paper making and printing have long been important to Wisconsin's economy, but changes in the industry and consumer habits have had a substantial impact on the sector. Fifteen paper mills in the state have shuttered since 1994, with 20,000 jobs lost since 2001.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.