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The world's largest iPhone factory, operated by Foxconn Technology Group at its vast manufacturing complex in the central Chinese city of Zhengzhou, has suspended recruitment of new workers after the local government imposed a seven-day lockdown as part of Covid-19 control measures.
Zhengzhou, which recorded on Wednesday four new Covid-19 cases and 10 new asymptomatic carriers, is under lockdown from Wednesday till next Tuesday. During this period, employees of government organisations and companies in the city's main districts will work from home, school lessons will move online, and people will only be allowed to leave and enter Zhengzhou under "necessary" circumstances.
Foxconn, the world's largest electronics contract manufacturer and Apple's prime supplier, on Wednesday froze its hiring process of assembly line personnel until further notice, according to updates posted on Chinese social media by a number of worker recruitment agencies in Zhengzhou, capital of central Henan province.
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The suspension came on the heels of the Taiwanese company's plans earlier this week to boost recruitment by offering higher cash bonuses, the agencies said in posts on Tencent Holdings platform WeChat and ByteDance-owned Douyin, the Chinese version of global hit short video app TikTok.
The entrance to Foxconn Technology Group's vast manufacturing complex in Zhengzhou, capital of central Henan province. Photo: Weibo alt=The entrance to Foxconn Technology Group's vast manufacturing complex in Zhengzhou, capital of central Henan province. Photo: Weibo>
Foxconn, formally known as Hon Hai Precision Industry, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday.
Under pressure to meet production requirements for Apple's upcoming iPhone 14 range of models, Foxconn's Zhengzhou operation earlier this week planned to increase the cash bonus offered to new recruits to 8,500 yuan (US$1,286), up from the previous 6,500 yuan, according to a report on Tuesday by Taiwanese newspaper Economic Daily News.
The move to suspend the hiring of new assembly line workers could complicate the iPhone 14 production schedule of Foxconn, which has run its smartphone and components production in Zhengzhou under a "closed-loop" system that confines employees within its campus.