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The logo of Foxconn seen outside the company’s building in Taipei, Taiwan, on November 10, 2022. Photo: Reuters

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
Foxconn
The world’s largest iPhone factory, operated by Apple supplier Foxconn Technology Group, is in need of 100,000 workers to resume full production capacity in the central Chinese city of Zhengzhou, according to China Newsweek, a state-backed weekly magazine.
It has been difficult for the company to find enough workers to staff the plant since an exodus spurred by a Covid-19 lockdown, the publication reported, citing an unnamed “person in charge at Foxconn”.

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.

China county calls on retired PLA personnel to work at Foxconn’s iPhone factory

Foxconn, formally known as Hon Hai Precision Industry, has been struggling to boost production since workers left in droves last month. Apple warned last week of delayed shipments of iPhone 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max handsets as the tech giant enters its busiest shopping season of the year ahead of the holidays.
Disruptions at the factory have pushed local authorities across Henan to help with recruitment. Cities and counties have urged grass-roots cadres and People’s Liberation Army veterans to join Foxconn.

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.

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Chinese workers flee world’s largest iPhone factory after Covid outbreak

Chinese workers flee world’s largest iPhone factory after Covid outbreak

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 has been raising its incentives to lure back workers. This month, it has been offering a 500 yuan (US$70) bonus to returning workers and quadrupled its daily attendance bonus to 400 yuan.

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”.

Foxconn raises hourly rate in Shenzhen amid Zhengzhou plant’s Covid troubles

Foxconn chairman Liu Young-way said last week that the Zhengzhou facility was “making efforts to resume normal productivity as soon as possible”. The company said it would revise down its outlook for the fourth quarter.

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.

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