Apple pushing Foxconn to hire aggressively to cope with strong iPhone 6 demand

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As Apple’s recently released iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus continue to face strong demand from fans around the world, the Cupertino firm has reacted by pushing its favorite contract manufacturer, Foxconn, to hire more workers to help assemble the handsets, Taiwanese trade publication DigiTimes reported Tuesday.

A large-scale aggressive hiring for Foxconn facilities in Shenzhen and Zhengzhou is currently underway, with sources noting that working on assembly lines is no longer as attractive as before for workers in China.

In turn, Foxconn is having issues recruiting sufficient numbers of workers so the firm’s been hosting “hiring events recently to maintain its manpower”.

The latest hiring effort is in addition to the 100,000 new employees Foxconn recruited in June ahead of the iPhone 6 launch. Rival Pegatron is thought to be responsible for some iPhone 6 assembly work, too.

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In the past year or so, Foxconn has been deploying pricey robots to help assemble iPhones, each costing between $20,000 and $25,000 to build. However, Chairman and CEO Terry Gou is reportedly displeased with the initiative because the current-generation of sophisticated machines disappoint in terms of proficiency and flexibility.

The iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus debuted in the United States and a few key markets around the world on September 19, arriving a week later to more than twenty additional markets.

Apple reported ten million iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus sales during the opening weekend. The company plans to bing the handsets to a total of 115 countries by the end of 2014.

Yesterday morning, Apple confirmed the the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus are scheduled to launch in the 1.33 billion people market of China on Friday, October 17, after clearing regulatory hurdles.

The Online Apple Store in the United States currently cites a 7-10 day shipping estimate for new iPhone 6 orders and a 3-4 week delay for iPhone 6 Plus orders.

[DigiTimes]