During Foxconn's 40th anniversary gathering, chairman Terry Gou told employees that the company plans to relocate some of its manufacturing away from China to its biggest market, the United States. He said many customers and partners have even asked Foxconn to build American factories.
Currently, Foxconn is investigating the possibility of manufacturing liquid display screens larger than 60 inches here in the States, as it's difficult to ship those panels to the U.S. from Asia. Foxconn has also set its sights on Indonesia thanks to rising costs and the labor situation in China.
Foxconn Technology Group announced back in November that the company plans to spend $30 million over the next two years to expand its current office located in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, including hiring 500 new employees. Foxconn also plans to provide $10 million to Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh to help in robotics research.
A prior report stated that Foxconn wants to open two headquarters here in the States: one on the West Coast and one on the East Coast. These two offices will seek out locations for factories, which will only manufacture high-end devices due to the higher cost of operation. China factories will continue to manufacture lower-end devices.
News of Foxconn wanting to build TVs in North America isn't anything new. Sources confirmed in November 2012 that an unknown number of American factories would focus on LCD TV production instead of Apple hardware. These factories will reportedly be highly automated and easier to manage.
Kuo Ming-Chi, an analyst at Taipei-based KGI Securities, told the Chicago Tribune on Sunday that Foxconn is looking more closely at the U.S. in order to move closer to some of their biggest clients. "Obama is also really pushing to return manufacturing to America and boost employment opportunities," he said.
Foxconn has production facilities in more than 10 countries including China, Turkey and Mexico. Gou told employees on Sunday that in order to diverse Foxconn's manufacturing base, Indonesia will need to be a key production site.
Gou also said that the company is shooting for 15 percent revenue growth in 2014.
