Yet again here’s a report of another Wisconsin company that received tax dollars from WEDC, Gov. Scott Walker’s “job creation” agency, only to turn around and outsource jobs that had been in Wisconsin to a foreign country.
A global power systems management corporation that has received nearly $370,000 in tax incentives from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) since 2012 is shipping jobs from Wisconsin to Mexico for the second time in three years.
Eaton Corp. announced last week it is permanently discontinuing the manufacture of printed circuit boards at its facility in Watertown, which will result in the elimination of 93 employees there.
“We first informed employees in April 2014, one year ago, that we would be moving the Printed Circuit Board (PCB) line from Watertown and consolidating it into another existing facility in Tijuana, Mexico,” Eaton Corp. Spokesperson Ann Marie Halal told 27 News. “These actions are in response to ongoing business and market conditions and a continued challenging business climate. They will allow the business to continue to compete globally and meet market demand.”
A 27 News investigation from July 2014 found that Eaton Corp. had received over $190,000 in WEDC tax credits despite laying off 163 employees at its Cooper Power Systems plant in Pewaukee in April 2013. The company moved those jobs to Mexico as well.
WEDC records now show that since 2012, the agency has awarded Eaton Corp. with $369,307 of a possible $1 million in job creation tax credits. During that time, Eaton has retained 154 jobs in the Wisconsin while adding 25 new jobs. The 93 layoffs announced last week have not been calculated into WEDC’s job retention/creation figures yet.
The fact that Gov. Walker’s “job creation” agency has awarded tax dollars to Eaton Corp. despite the fact that Eaton has twice sent Wisconsin jobs to foreign countries is simply galling – not to mention a gigantic misappropriation of our tax dollars at a time that our state has made cuts upon cuts to public schools, the UW system, and a host of other valuable state services and programs.
It seem to me that WEDC is a means by Walker to reward his corporate or private supporters. And as reported elsewhere previously, it is also an agency rife with incompetence.
The privatization of the former Commerce Department is a mission and fiscal failure. WEDC is better known as Wisconsin Errant Dumb Clucks.
It’s time to call WEDC what it is- a taxpayer-paid slsuh fund for Walker contributors. It has nothing to do with creating jobs.
Bullseye.
My guess is that even GOP small businesses see WEDC as shakedown artists, bleeding them for more contributions. AFAIK, the vast majority of the tax breaks go to the large corporations.
As others have pointed out, it is all OK though, because the WI taxpayer money is not being used to ship jobs to Mexico. Eaton Corp is using their own money to do that. Taxpayer money is being used to retain some jobs here in WI and not ship the whole work force out of town.
Ahhhhh…the fragrant stench of fascism on another WI morning.
Faith and begorrah, the last time I looked, Eaton’s “pay or else I dump on Wisconsin workers” qualifies as blackmail. The Irish mafia is alive and well in Badger land!
Zach, thanks. From back in 2012, “Ireland-bound Eaton is latest to end U.S. corporate citizenship.”
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/05/22/us-tax-eaton-idUSBRE84L0T420120522
“Eaton Corporation is based in Dublin, Ireland…” http://www.wkow.com/story/28910369/2015/04/27/eaton-corp-outsourcing-wi-jobs-to-mexico-for-second-time-after-getting-370k-from-wedc
Do they or do they not pay U.S. Federal or State taxes?
D12, my guess is that most large employers, such as Eaton, are (from a net perspective) in negative income tax territory from both federal and state governments.