Foxconn Hints At 12-Hour Shifts At Wisconsin Plant

If a job on the manufacturing side at the yet-to-be-built Foxconn plant in the Village of Mount Pleasant sounds appealing, be prepared to work 12-hour shifts.

While not commenting directly on the matter, Foxconn has told transit planners to expect large shift changes between 6 a.m. and 7 a.m., and 6 p.m. and 7 p.m., meaning most workers at the Foxconn LCD plant in Racine County will be on a 12-hour work schedule.

When asked about work schedules, a Foxconn spokesperson said in an email response this week that hiring details would be announced at a later date.

Twelve-hour shifts in manufacturing are not uncommon, said Steve Duquaine, Director of human resources for Rustoleum, a paint manufacturer that has a plant in Pleasant Prairie. He said the company converted to 12-hour shifts four years ago, and only lost one worker in the process.

At a public meeting last month on road expansion near the plant, John Bieberitz, a transportation consultant who’d been hired by the village, said he’d been told to plan for a pair of shift changes between 6 a.m. and 7 a.m., and 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. seven days a week. He compared the anticipated traffic congestion around the plant to what’s encountered during a Thursday afternoon Brewers game at Miller Park, with 4,000 to 7,000 vehicles coming and going.

The longer shifts reduce overtime and allow companies to better utilize expensive equipment, Duquaine said. A selling point for workers is more time off, with employees getting as many days off as they work.

However, recruiting new hires can be a challenge for some companies, especially when they’re going after highly skilled workers, Duquaine said.

“That’s because the more skills a person has the more options they have,” he said, adding that companies that offer good benefit packages and working conditions have fewer problems.

Groundbreaking on the $10 billion Foxconn plant that could employee up to 13,000 workers is expected to take place this spring.