World’s largest iPhone factory needs 100,000 workers for Foxconn to resume full production, state media says
- The Taiwanese manufacturer’s Zhengzhou facility is still grappling with an exodus of workers amid an ongoing Covid-19 outbreak
- Foxconn’s ability to resume normal operations has big implications for Apple’s supply chain ahead of the holiday shopping season
In Taikang, a county in Henan province with 1.5 million residents, the facility has asked for 10,000 workers. Only 2,000 have been hired so far, the report said.
Foxconn did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday.
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As many as 72,000 people had registered their intent to work for Foxconn in an internal hiring system by Wednesday, according to Shanghai-based Cailianshe, an online financial news service provided by the state-run Shanghai United Media Group, citing unidentified local labour agencies.
However, strict Covid-19 quarantine requirements may still be affecting recruitment. According to a notice published by the Zhengzhou factory’s iPhone production unit, new hires must go through four days of quarantine in a designated “observation” zone before starting work.
At its peak, the factory had about 300,000 workers. It is now operating in a so-called closed-loop mode, which requires people to live and work on campus.
Two workers who left the compound late last month said that they declined their village officials’ call to return to work and also persuaded their friends not to join. They said that some workers had to live with colleagues who tested positive for Covid. Actual income may be much lower than expected or pay is delayed, they added, as Foxconn has been strict about measuring attendance and performance.
Foxconn said on its official WeChat account that the local government has deployed some 2,000 personnel to conduct disinfection at 11 dorm compounds, 10 factory buildings, nine canteens and other public areas.
Foxconn is a massive employer and important taxpayer in Henan. As the largest iPhone assembler, Foxconn’s ability to resume normal operations also has significant implications on China’s position in Apple’s supply chain.
An initial batch of new assembly line recruits arrived at Foxconn’s Zhengzhou facility last Sunday, according to a report by the government-run Henan Daily. Henan Vice-Governor Sun Shougang even visited the campus that day, encouraging the employees to “be confident and united” that “production and living order will soon return to normal”.
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Neither Foxconn nor the local government has reported the scale of the Covid-19 outbreak at the facility. Last week, the Zhengzhou Airport Economic Zone, where the plant is located, lifted pandemic control measures, but it labelled the area surrounding the factory a “temporary control area to avoid spillover” for an unspecified period.
Henan health authorities recorded 137 confirmed cases on Wednesday, 136 from Zhengzhou. Among the 1,521 asymptomatic cases, 1,480 were from Zhengzhou.