President Biden unveils Microsoft’s plan for a $3.3 billion data center in southeastern Wisconsin, contrasting with his Republican predecessor’s scaled-back $10 billion project at the same site
During his fourth visit there this year, Biden stated that Microsoft’s investment would generate thousands of jobs in the presidential battleground state that his campaign considers crucial to its re-election bid in Wisconsin.
The establishment will be constructed in the location where Donald Trump, a presidential candidate and rival of Biden, in 2017 declared a $10 billion investment from Taiwan electronics manufacturer Foxconn, which the company subsequently reduced significantly. Trump referred to it as “the eighth wonder of the world.”
At the Gateway Technical College campus in Sturtevant, a Midwestern state devastated by manufacturing declines, Biden addressed about 200 people and said, “I am here to speak about a great comeback story in America.”
The president claimed that Microsoft’s investment would be genuinely transformative and have a global impact.
“My predecessor made promises, which he broke,” Biden asserted. “On my watch, we make and keep promises.”
As a result of local skepticism and a shift in plans, Foxconn announced in 2021 that it would invest $672 million at the site as opposed to the $10 billion initially planned and that it would create 1,454 new employees, down from 13,000 as tax breaks were reduced.
Microsoft, according to Microsoft President Brad Smith, intends to invest $3.3 billion by the end of 2026 to assist laborers and improve manufacturing through the use of artificial intelligence.
According to the White House, the investment would eventually create approximately 2,000 permanent jobs and 2,300 union construction jobs. According to the report, nearly 4,000 manufacturing jobs have been created in the neighboring city of Racine since Biden assumed office, whereas the Trump administration eliminated approximately 1,000 manufacturing positions.
“We will train over 100,000 people in Wisconsin by the end of the decade so they have the AI skills to fill the jobs of tomorrow,” Smith asserted. Biden cited the legislation enacted concerning infrastructure, semiconductors, and climate change as the foundation for the investment.
The White House added that Microsoft will collaborate with Gateway Technical College to train one thousand individuals for data center and other positions by 2030 and educate one thousand business leaders to implement AI in their operations.
VOTER BLACK SUPPORT
Biden greeted and conversed with approximately fifty campaign volunteers from the African American community in Racine following the Microsoft event. He urged them to believe Trump’s vow to undo the progress made during Biden’s presidency.
Biden is attempting to bolster his support among African American voters in advance of the presidential election on November 5. National polls indicate that he is essentially deadlocked with Trump, a Republican making his third attempt at the White House following his loss to Biden in 2020.
African American, Latino, and Asian voters are the target audience for a portion of Biden’s $14 million advertising campaign. It plans a barrage on Thursday regarding what it claims are Trump’s assaults on healthcare.
Biden criticized his predecessor in Wisconsin regarding the unsuccessful investment in Racine County. “Foxconn turned out to be just that—a con,” according to him.
Campaign representatives for Trump could not be reached for comment at this time.
Opens a new tab Foxconn (2317. TW) issued a statement indicating that employment at its Wisconsin operations has increased by 42% since 2020 and has become the largest taxpayer in the neighboring county in recent years. “We are proud of the over 1,000 men and women who work at Foxconn Wisconsin,” according to the statement.
