MICROSOFT AGREES TO BUY $50M FOXCONN PARCEL IN WISCONSIN

Microsoft has agreed to buy a $50 million parcel of land in southeastern Wisconsin meant for Foxconn after the world’s largest electronics manufacturer failed to fulfill grandiose promises to build a massive facility that would employ thousands of workers.

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Microsoft plans to build a $1 billion data center on the 315-acre (127-hectare) parcel in Mount Pleasant, a village of about 27,000 people in Racine County, about 30 miles (50 kilometers) south of Milwaukee. It’s unclear how many people the center might employ. Paul Englis, Microsoft’s director of global community research and engagement, told the Racine County Board of Supervisors that such centers typically employ 300 to 400 people.

The village already is home to a Foxconn Technology Group manufacturing facility. The Taiwan-based company is best known for making Apple iPhones. The company announced plans in 2017 to build a $10 billion facility in Mount Pleasant that would employ 13,000 people.