Rick Romell and Molly Beck

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Foxconn Technology Group said Friday it will indeed build a liquid crystal display manufacturing plant in Wisconsin, following talks between President Donald Trump and company CEO and Chairman Terry Gou.

The Taiwan-based electronics manufacturer said it will move forward with construction of a so-called Generation 6 factory, or "fab," which typically produces screens for cellphones, tablets and small televisions.

FULL COVERAGE:Foxconn in Wisconsin

The announcement came after "productive discussions between the White House and the company, and after a personal conversation between President Donald J. Trump and Chairman Terry Gou," Foxconn said in a statement.

Trump quickly took to Twitter, posting: "Great news on Foxconn in Wisconsin after my conversation with Terry Gou!"

A company spokeswoman did not immediately say how many jobs would be created and how much the company would invest in the project, but in recent days Foxconn has reiterated its longstanding pledge to employ 13,000 people in the state.

Foxconn’s statement Friday came after days of uncertainly brought by reports that the firm was reconsidering, or even suspending, its high-profile Wisconsin project and would reverse course on bringing thousands of manufacturing jobs .

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In an interview with Reuters published Wednesday, Foxconn executive Louis Woo said the company couldn't compete in the U.S. in the business of producing televisions. Another report, published Thursday, cited steep labor costs being a factor in the company's changing plans.

The reports prompted Republicans in recent days to blame the apparent shift on the election of Gov. Tony Evers, a Democrat.

But Evers’ spokeswoman, Foxconn and Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. officials said Thursday that Evers had established a productive relationship with Foxconn.

And Milwaukee business leader Timothy Sheehy, who has been involved in the Foxconn project from the beginning nearly two years ago, praised Evers' approach.

"Tony has been nothing but professional on this," said Sheehy, president of the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce.

By Friday, the same Republicans who were blaming Evers earlier in the week for Foxconn's changes were praising the company's plans and thanking Trump .

"We want to thank President Trump for his commitment to Wisconsin workers — our state has an ally in the White House who is dedicated to helping us bring family-supporting careers to our state," Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald of Juneau and Assembly Speaker Robin Vos of Rochester said in a statement.

Clarity of message

Evers said Friday that Foxconn's latest plan appears to track what it has said it would do for months, but that its message has not always been clear.

He cast doubts on whether or how soon the company would create 13,000 jobs in Wisconsin.

"It’s likely not going to be tomorrow, I’ll tell you that," he told reporters after talking with Woo.

"As they view the economic environment, they obviously have changed what they’re going to do over time," Evers said. "This announcement today frankly isn’t a new one. They’ve talked about doing the Generation 6 work for some time. But I also think that means the 13,000 is not going to happen tomorrow. We have to monitor it."

He stressed that the company needs to be clear in telling the public what it is doing.

“There’s some protections there (for taxpayers in Foxconn's agreement with the state) but there’s no protection to — and there’s no limit, frankly — to skepticism if the messaging isn’t coherent," Evers said.

“It’s just a matter of their communication strategy being more consistent," he said. "I’m comfortable that they’re still committed to the state, they’re committed to this Generation 6 technology, but that doesn’t mean that we (won’t) encourage them to be more transparent and consistent in their messaging.”

One source said Friday that this week's firestorm may have been sparked by an intense review of Foxconn's far-flung business initiatives conducted by Gou every year at this time in Taiwan.

Shortly before Chinese New Year, top executives from throughout the $158 billion company are summoned and put through "a brutal assessment" of their business strategies by Gou, who is "a hard grader," the source said.

"They call it a 24-hour root canal. He goes through everybody’s business plans. And as that happens I think bits and pieces of this start to spin out in the press over there."

Foxconn told its reputation is at risk

While there's no doubt Foxconn has been re-evaluating what type of manufacturing to do in Wisconsin, some accounts appear to have portrayed that as re-evaluation of whether to do manufacturing at all, the observer said.

With the situation threatening to boil into a full-blown crisis, Wisconsin backers of Foxconn contacted Woo Wednesday night and warned him that the company's reputation was at risk, the source said.

The Foxconn project has drawn widespread scrutiny because of its announced scope — 13,000 jobs and up to $10 billion in investment — and the large public subsidies involved.

Between the State of Wisconsin, local governments and utility ratepayers, the massive development could receive more than $4 billion in public aid.

But roughly a third of that aid package is tied to investment. And while Foxconn has continued to repeat its 13,000-jobs pledge, the firm's most recent announcements have dropped mention of investing $10 billion.

The $3 billion in potential state subsidies is on a pay-for-performance basis. Foxconn must hit employment and investment targets to collect what are formally "refundable tax credits" but which in practice almost certainly will be cash payments.

Local governments face upfront costs

The Village of Mount Pleasant and Racine County, which together plan to spend $912 million on land acquisition, infrastructure improvements and public safety upgrades in support of Foxconn — as well as a $100 million incentive payment to the company — have less security than the state.

Local officials expect the increased property value spurred by Foxconn will generate enough new taxes to cover the local spending. Should the tax payments fall short because property values don't rise as expected, the local contract with Foxconn requires the company to make up the difference.

Assembly Minority Leader Gordon Hintz, D-Oshkosh, has been heavily skeptical of the deal brokered by Walker and Foxconn.

"Clearly, part of (Foxconn's) intent in coming to Wisconsin in the first place was to maintain favorable trade relations with the Trump administration," Hintz said Friday. "It's clear the president has exercised some of that pressure. But at the end of the day, why would a company — why would state taxpayers — want to move forward with a project that by the company’s own admission isn’t market-competitive?"

The flurry of news and speculation this week comes less than a year after Trump, Walker, former House Speaker Paul Ryan and other state officials broke ground in Mount Pleasant on the larger plant promised by Foxconn.

The lawmakers proclaimed the project would transform Wisconsin economically. Trump called the project “the eighth wonder of the world” and Walker toured the state touting Foxconn’s investment as a way to bring back manufacturing jobs to an area that has lost tens of thousands.

But Wisconsinites have been sharply divided on Foxconn, and it's only recently that polls have shown even a slight majority believe the project will be worth $4 billion in taxpayer subsidies.

Those perceptions could be crucial to Trump, who won the presidency by carrying Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania.

"Wisconsin is clearly a critical state for him to hold onto in 2020," Charles Franklin, director of the Marquette University Law School Poll, said Friday.

With Trump having made the original announcement on the project, the president is tied to the project, Franklin said.

Local officials issued a statement Friday welcoming word that Foxconn will build an LCD plant in Mount Pleasant.

"We remain committed to ensuring that Foxconn’s investment in our community will bring unparalleled economic development, job growth and enhanced quality of life for those in Racine County and throughout Wisconsin," said the joint statement from Mount Pleasant Village President David DeGroot, Racine Mayor Cory Mason, Racine County Executive Jonathan Delagrave and Jenny Trick, executive director of the Racine County Economic Development Corp.

Patrick Marley and Mary Spicuzza of the Journal Sentinel staff contributed to this report.