President Joe Biden is scheduled to visit Racine, Wisconsin, on Wednesday to announce a $3.3 billion investment by Microsoft to build a new artificial intelligence data center.
The data center will be built on the same site as Foxconn's planned $10 billion facility, which former President Donald Trump touted during his presidency as a major resurgence of U.S. high-tech manufacturing. be done.
However, those plans were never fully realized. The Taiwan-based electronics maker has since significantly scaled back its plans for the factory, which President Trump once called the “eighth wonder of the world,” and the number of new jobs has gone from 13,000 to about 100,000 currently filled. The number has been reduced to 1,000, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported. .
Microsoft's investment in artificial intelligence data centers is expected to employ 2,300 construction union workers and create 2,000 permanent jobs over the long term, with nearly 4,000 jobs in Racine, according to the White House. , adding that 177,000 jobs have been added, one-third of them in manufacturing, in Wisconsin since Biden became president.
Microsoft also plans to partner with Gateway Technical College in Wisconsin to develop a training facility to prepare 1,000 residents for data center and STEM roles by 2030. The goal is to employ up to 2,000 people permanently at the White House's Racine facility. Said. He also plans to invest in training 1,000 business leaders so the tech giant can implement AI in their operations.
The Trump campaign did not respond to requests for comment.
Trump has repeatedly asserted that the economy is worse during Biden's presidency than when he was in office, often pointing to rising inflation and interest rates in recent months.
Biden and administration officials have recently traveled to key battleground states to highlight economic achievements such as legislation to invest in infrastructure and clean energy, which the president hopes will create more high-paying U.S.-based jobs. He said it would lead to.