Apple developer Foxconn is starting a recruitment drive for its manufacturing plant in Zhengzhou, China. While the company is typically known for iPhone production, this news comes weeks ahead of usual seasonal schedules.
Foxconn Offers Bonuses During Recruitment Drive
With Foxconn’s Zhengzhou factory being the main production base for iPhone assembly, the company began a major recruitment drive beginning in May in an attempt to bolster its workforce. Part of this effort involves offering larger bonuses. Increasing the value by 30% for workers who sign up with the manufacturer.
As this is considered an off-season time for hiring workers, the hiring drive itself is rather unusual. UDN reports that it is typical for Foxconn to have its main hiring drive around mid-June to July.
Usually, Foxconn offers a job seeker bonus of RMB 6,500 ($983) to any worker that stays with the company for 90 days. However, under the current drive, the bonus has increased up to RMB 8,500 ($1,286) after 90 days.
Foxconn has not identified how many workers it is seeking during this recruitment effort.
It is unlikely that this push is in relation to iPhone 14 production. However, the company is likely to maintain its workforce during this period of uncertainty. With the iPhone 13 continuing to do well, Foxconn is likely to maintain present production levels until it has to push toward the next generation of devices.
Facing Local ShutDowns
Apple is also reportedly asking the plant to bring workers onboard in advance to help minimize the chances of delaying a release due to factory shutdowns.
In mid-April, mandated testing over potential COVID-19 infections helped prevent further lockdowns. This largely helped the Zhengzhou facility avoid lockdowns in the region.
Known as “iPhone City,” Foxconn stated in late April that the company had around 200,000 workers operating in the area. The company also stated that production has not seen an impact due to COVID-19.