Foxconn Zhengzhou woos fleeing workers with US$70 subsidy after Covid-induced exodus hits iPhone capacity
- Foxconn called the subsidy a ‘pre-hiring’ offer as workers would not be able to return until the seven-day lockdown was lifted on Wednesday
- Fears of catching the virus as well as concerns over food quality in the compound led to an exodus of Foxconn workers a week ago
A notice posted on Monday by the Foxconn unit responsible for iPhone production said the “care and love” subsidy was a “pre-hiring” offer, as workers would not be able to return to the compound until the seven-day lockdown imposed by local authorities was lifted on Wednesday this week.
Workers who fled the compound from October 10 to November 5 have been told to register at local labour agencies if they are willing to return, and that Foxconn will organise transport to get them back into the compound in a “point to point, closed-loop manner” once the lockdown in the Zhengzhou Airport Economic Zone, where the Taiwanese firm's iPhone factory is located, is lifted.
The notice was published after Apple issued a statement on Sunday saying that the facility in Zhengzhou, capital of central Henan province, was “operating at significantly reduced capacity”, resulting in lower-than-anticipated shipments and longer delivery times for iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max models.
Since mid-October, Foxconn's Zhengzhou factory, which employs nearly 300,000 workers, has been operating under a closed-loop production system amid a local outbreak of Covid-19 in the city. The company has closed dining halls in the compound and asked workers to have meals in their dormitories. Canteens reopened last week but with limited seating.