Foxconn to open multi-billion dollar Michigan plant

AFP | Getty Images

Ford Field, home of the NFL Detroit Lions, is seen near an abandoned building September 30, 2013 in Detroit, Michigan.

The Michigan facility will be focused on autonomous vehicles, the SCMP said, citing Foxconn founder Terry Gou.

“Automotive development in the U.S. is still more advanced than China,” Gou was quoted as saying. “Besides self-driving technology, I’m also interested in artificial intelligence and deep learning technology.”

No details into the investment amount were provided.

The news comes nearly two weeks after Foxconn announced a $10 billion Wisconsin plant. That’s expected to create 3,000 American jobs, with the potential to eventually expand to 13,000 jobs.

Trump, whose presidential campaign was focused in part on job creation, is likely to welcome the development with open arms as his administration deals with a number of challenges, including a chaotic White House and an investigation into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.

In his 2016 presidential contest against Hillary Clinton, Trump “flipped” a number of U.S. states that had gone to Barack Obama, but none surprised political analysts more than Michigan and Wisconsin. Both were once reliably Democratic, but they lined up behind Trump in the face of manufacturing job losses. Clinton was criticized for failing to recognize economic anxiety in either state.

Read the full South China Morning Post story.