As Apple is prepping to kick off mass-production of 2018’s iPhone models, its favorite manufacturer Foxconn is now offering staff retention bonuses and ramping up seasonal hiring.
Taiwanese trade publication DigiTimes today quoted a new report published by the Economic Daily News newspaper claiming that Foxconn began ramping up hiring for its plants in China’s Zhengzhou province where its workers assemble iPhones.
The supplier is offering a one-time bonus of up to CNY 2,000, (about $295) to any employees who’d be willing to renew their contract and help assemble next-generation iPhones.
The hiring spree should last through November 2018.
Foxconn, the sole manufacturer of Apple’s flagship iPhone X smartphone, recorded weaker than expected profits in the fourth quarter of 2017 due to high costs associated with factory retooling and equipment purchases ahead of last year’s mass-production of iPhone X.
To prevent the same from happening for this year’s iPhone refresh, the Apple supplier has applied “stricter cost management,” the paper added.
Here’s a breakdown of Foxconn’s iPhone output by model:
- Second-generation iPhone X: 100%
- iPhone X Plus: 90%
- 6.1-inch LCD iPhone: 75%
Any remaining orders will be fulfilled by Pegatron.
There’s no word as of yet whether Apple’s other major contract manufacturer, Taiwan-based Pegatron, is about to kick off a hiring spree of its own in preparation for the upcoming devices.
2018 iPhone family mockup top of post courtesy of Benjamin Geskin