Foxconn offers higher hourly rates for workers in Shenzhen at its Huawei production unit than its iPhone operation
- Foxconn’s FIH unit manufactures handsets and electronics devices for Huawei and other smartphone firms
- Although China remains its most important production centre, Apple has been diversifying its supply chain amid rising geopolitical tensions
Foxconn Technology Group, one of Apple’s biggest suppliers, is offering higher rates for workers that make Huawei Technologies’ handsets in southern tech hub Shenzhen than those that make iPhones, according to recruitment posts and information from labour agencies.
Foxconn’s FIH unit, which makes Huawei smartphones and operates under a subsidiary previously known as Foxconn International Holdings, on Thursday was offering a 26 yuan (US$3.60) hourly rate for new workers at its factory in Shenzhen’s Longhua district, according to two recruitment agents. This is higher than the hourly rate of 21 yuan offered at Foxconn’s integrated Digital Product Business Group (iDPBG), which makes iPhones.
The FIH unit, which assembles handsets and various consumer electronics devices for Huawei and other smartphone firms, mainly serves Huawei these days, according to a report by local newspaper China Business News.
“The new hires will know what phone they are making after the factory allocates them to different teams based on current demand, but these days they have a higher chance of making handsets for Huawei,” an agent in Shenzhen surnamed Xu said.
Taiwan-based Foxconn, formally known as Hon Hai Precision Industry, did not immediately reply to a request for comment on hourly rates.
The hiring spree comes amid a production race with both Apple and Huawei recently launching new 5G handsets in the world’s biggest smartphone market.
There are many factors at play when it comes to hourly rates at the different units under Foxconn, the world’s largest electronics contract manufacturer.
Xu, the recruitment agent, said the hourly rates offered by FIH are normally higher than iDPBG because the iPhone production unit typically offers better welfare programmes for workers than others.
While Apple started iPhone 15 production in Foxconn’s Indian factory last month, the vast majority of the latest iPhone 15 series will come from China, the report said.
