Kimberly-Clark seeks WI subsidy to stem layoffs, but spends US tax windfall on layoffs

Wisconsin taxpayers are asking, correctly, when is enough, enough?

We ask as Republicans confront the damage their Foxconn boondoggle is doing to the additional subsidy their legislators and defeated Governor want to throw at the very profitable multinational corporation Kimberly-Clark.

A business that had already snubbed Wisconsin with a headquarters move - - thank you, Dave Zweifel, for the reminder - - and also remember this:

Kimberly-Clark reaped a windfall in the Ryan-Trump tax giveaway bill, and is spending it on stockholders and - - wait for it - - the very kind of cost-saving downsizing which it now wants Wisconsin taxpayers to pay to undo.
As I noted earlier this year: 

How many subsidies can profitable Kimberly-Clark absorb? Plenty, apparently.

The K-C subsidy potential...comes on the heels of the profitable company already getting major Trump tax breaks and using the windfall to close up those Wisconsin facilities, as I'd noted in February: 

Desperate Walker offers another company Foxconn-level subsidies

And don't forget that K-C said it would fund the plant closings with savings under the Trump-Ryan tax cut plan, so, first the federal treasury is drained for the company's benefit, and then Walker wants to step in with state money and give the company more and more millions.

As The Hill reported in January:

Kimberly-Clark — maker of brands such as Kleenex, Scott and Huggies — said the savings it receives from the new tax-cut law will help them pay for a restructuring program that includes layoffs...

The announcement contrasts with other businesses, such as Starbucks and Walmart, that have said that they will increase wages or issue bonuses in the wake of the tax law. President Trump signed the law in late December...

"We also anticipate ongoing annual cash-flow benefits from tax reform," Kimberly-Clark Chief Financial Officer Maria Henry said on the call. "That provides us flexibility to continue to allocate significant capital to shareholders, while we also fund increased capital spending and our restructuring program over the next few years."

So the question for Wisconsin lawmakers and taxpayers is: when is enough, enough?

A full archive about Foxconn with more than 200 posts and even more embedded links is here.