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Foxconn to assemble Google server components in Wisconsin plant, report says

The beleaguered Wisconsin factory had been touted as a key to bringing manufacturing back to the US.

Richard Nieva Former senior reporter
Richard Nieva was a senior reporter for CNET News, focusing on Google and Yahoo. He previously worked for PandoDaily and Fortune Magazine, and his writing has appeared in The New York Times, on CNNMoney.com and on CJR.org.
Richard Nieva
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Google is reportedly contracting with Foxconn for assembling server components.

Angela Lang/CNET

Foxconn is planning to manufacture components for Google servers at the Taiwanese company's factory in Wisconsin, according to a report Monday by Bloomberg. 

The Google contract is a bright spot for the beleaguered Wisconsin factory, which was touted by the Trump administration as a central element in a plan to bring manufacturing back to the US. But after ground first broke on the factory two years ago, the space had largely gone unused.

Google and Foxconn didn't respond to requests for comment.

The server components are likely to bolster Google's growing cloud business, which relies on massive data centers for computing and storage that the search giant rents out to other companies. Last month, Google said it would break out its cloud revenues starting in the fourth quarter and will share data going back to 2018 -- a sign of confidence in that business.

Foxconn, perhaps best known for its work making parts for Apple products such as iPhones , is trying to diversify its clientele, the Bloomberg report said. The Wisconsin plant was initially planned as an LCD manufacturing facility with the goal of creating 13,000 jobs in the state. After its first year of hiring, however, the factory only had 178 full-time employees, the report said.

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