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Foxconn slowly brings workers back to factories to churn out iPhones again
Returning workers get shuttle buses, bonuses and their own rooms -- but only so they can quarantine
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This article originally appeared on ABACUS
The company known for making iPhones is ready to bring people back to work as the coronavirus outbreak continues to take a toll on the Chinese economy. To help sweeten the deal, Foxconn is offering bonuses, dedicated shuttles and a motivational speech by a local official.
Foxconn is the world's largest contract electronics maker, best known for pumping out gadgets for companies like Apple, Amazon, Google, Nintendo and many others. Since the spread of the deadly Covid-19 outbreak, Foxconn had to shut down its factories in China, postponing the resumption of production until after the Lunar New Year holiday.
The extended holiday ended February 10, and the company said on Thursday that it will “cautiously” resume output at its main factories in China. But Foxconn acknowledged that the outbreak will lead to lower full-year revenue. And the company’s clients are hurting, too, with Apple now expected to ship 5 per cent to 10 per cent fewer iPhones than previously projected.
To get things humming again, Foxconn is reportedly offering returning workers a bonus of 3,000 yuan (US$427) over the span of three months for starting on time. The company also sent out fleets of custom shuttle buses to pick workers up from smaller cities surrounding areas where key factories are located.
To make this happen, Foxconn has been working closely with local governments to transport workers back to work. In Shanxi, 381 Foxconn employees were reportedly picked up by a fleet of shuttle buses run by a state-owned enterprise from half a dozen small cities and ferried back to a factory in Taiyuan. The workers were greeted by a government official who gave a brief motivational speech upon their arrival.
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