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Foxconn raises hourly rate in Shenzhen to US$3.30 after Zhengzhou Covid-19 lockdown dents iPhone production
- Apple’s largest contract manufacturer raised pay in Shenzhen by 14 per cent as it contends with a worker exodus at its largest iPhone plant in Zhengzhou
- Foxconn also raised pay in Zhengzhou, where workers say conditions are still chaotic but access to medicine has improved
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Foxconn Technology Group, Apple’s largest contract manufacturer, is ramping up hiring at its Shenzhen plant in the wake of production disruptions at its Covid-hit Zhengzhou campus, which houses the world’s largest iPhone factory.
Shenzhen’s iPhone production unit raised its hourly wage to 24 yuan (US$3.32) this week, a 14 per cent increase over the previous 21 yuan, according to two local hiring agents on Tuesday. The increase is the result of “the shortage of labour”, one agent said.
The increased demand for workers at Foxconn’s Shenzhen campus came after production capacity at its Zhengzhou factory was “significantly” impaired by an exodus of workers spurred by Covid-19 control measures that employees say led to “terrible” living conditions.
A Foxconn spokesman said on Tuesday that the pandemic situation in Zhengzhou is under control and the company is “coordinating the production capability from other sites as backup to minimise the possible impact”. The person did not elaborate on the Shenzhen plant’s hiring plans.
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Foxconn, formally known as Hon Hai Precision Industry, said on Monday that it would “revise down” its outlook for the fourth quarter “due to the pandemic affecting some of [its] operations in Zhengzhou”, marking a shift from its previous statement that production remained stable.
Apple was also forced to break its silence as the situation in Zhengzhou weighed on production of its gadgets just ahead of the peak holiday shopping season.
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Its facilities in the city are “currently operating at significantly reduced capacity”, the company said in a statement on Sunday. “We now expect lower iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max shipments than we previously anticipated.”
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