Milwaukee Alderman Robert Bauman raised concerns about Foxconn’s shifting plans for its Mount Pleasant plant at a recent meeting of the city’s transportation review board.
“So this is primarily a bunch of robots working down there… You don’t need a bunch of commuter buses,” he said yesterday.
The city’s Public Transportation, Utilities and Waterways Review Board met yesterday morning to get an update from the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission. The commission’s deputy director, Kevin Muhs, pushed back on Bauman’s claim.
Muhs admitted Foxconn’s short-term plans have changed, from a more advanced generation 10.5 plant to a generation 6 plant. And about 90 percent of the promised jobs will be in engineering, research and sales, rather than direct assembly workers.
He also said he expects “increased automation at the assembly plant itself,” based on comments made by the company.
“From a long-range planning perspective, things shifting under our feet is a real challenge,” Muhs said.
But, he said, “they’re still committing to that 13,000 jobs… You are talking about a significant number of people at one site.”
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