Foxconn groundbreaking date changed again to accommodate schedules of Trump, others

Rick Romell | Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

The date of the ceremonial groundbreaking for the $10 billion Foxconn Technology Group electronics factory has been changed a second time, and now is again set for June 28.

Originally scheduled for that date, the ceremony was shifted two weeks ago to June 29. On Thursday, however, a Foxconn spokesman confirmed that the groundbreaking will be on the 28th, as first planned.

With President Donald Trump expected to attend, the schedule shifted dates because of "what I would call the normal challenges of aligning the president's schedule, the speaker's schedule and Terry Gou," a source said, referring to the Foxconn chairman and Speaker of the House Paul Ryan as well as Trump.

Trump has encouraged the plans by Taiwan-based Foxconn to build a flat-screen plant in the U.S. The first meeting between Gou and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker occurred in April 2017 in the office of then White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus.

FULL COVERAGE: Foxconn updates

Foxconn last summer chose Wisconsin for its factory site after also considering Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and North Carolina. If it creates the promised 13,000 jobs in Wisconsin and invests at least $9 billion, the company stands to receive about $4 billion in state and local aid, including nearly $3 billion from state taxpayers.

Excavation work at the Foxconn site in Mount Pleasant in Racine County began in early May.