Taiwanese group Foxconn has signed a contract to manufacture key Google server components at its Wisconsin factory, rather than China, according to Bloomberg. The move could help create a multitude of manufacturing jobs at the plant, which has been severely underutilized for years. Reports indicate that the Foxconn factory will begin production of Google components in the first quarter of next year. The decision to focus production in the United States could also lead to the signing of new contracts in the country, with Foxconn keen to reduce its reliance on its Chinese production base. Google may have also had future government contracts in mind when it awarded the server manufacturing contract to Foxconn. The Wisconsin plant that will make the parts has enormous political influence, potentially bringing 13.000 manufacturing jobs to the state.
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Construction on the Wisconsin site began in 2018, with state and local governments spending millions to create the infrastructure Foxconn needed. Despite this, the factory remained largely empty, with Foxconn accused of significantly surprising the site's potential. The factory has been used to make masks and ventilators in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic this year, but its manufacturing capacities remain largely underutilized. However, the deal with Google gives the plant a lifeline, as the search engine giant partially chose the plant for technological reasons: Foxconn was the only US-based company that said it was capable. . provide the surface mount technology assembly lines necessary to produce the server parts. Foxconn, which is widely known for making most of Apple's iPhone products, may see the Google contract as an opportunity to diversify its revenue streams. The deal will also draw attention to future US-China relations as US President Donald Trump, who has pursued a hostile policy against Beijing, prepares to resign. Via Bloomberg