Apple is slowly taking its supply chain out of China, but for several years, it may be dependent on the region, thanks to the presence of Foxconn’s main iPhone plant located in Zhengzhou. Even in the off-season, a new report states that the assembling giant is increasing production capacity and hiring new workers, with plans to retain the newly recruited employees with monetary incentives.

Foxconn is now said to provide new hires with an $872 bonus, but after it has received internal recommendations to do so

A series of setbacks transpired in the fourth quarter of last year, resulting in reduced iPhone shipments, the commencement of riots, and the replacement of Foxconn’s assembly head. Despite these shortcomings, Apple’s supply chain partner has not deterred from its plans, choosing to increase smartphone production capacity, according to Economic News Daily. Though iPhone shipments are expected to pick up later this year thanks to the iPhone 15 launch, Foxconn is said to be actively hiring workers in the off-season.

These workers are said to receive a bonus of RMB 6,000, which converts into $872, but only after the company has received internal recommendations regarding the new recruits. It is possible that these bonuses increase during the fourth quarter this year, when demand for the iPhone 15 family, or more specifically, the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max, picks up this year.

Foxconn announced in late February this year that it would increase production capacity at its largest iPhone plant, with 14 production lines expected to be added every year, at least according to the machine translation. Assuming the report checks out, Foxconn might still consider Zhengzhou as its primary base of assembling operations.

Due to the plant’s temporary closure that resulted in fewer iPhone shipments and a loss of revenue in the billions, the partner reportedly lost out on exclusively assemblingthe iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max. Later, we reported that the deal was back on the table, with Foxconn undertaking orders for the ‘Pro’ models, while Luxshare will handle iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus orders, as shipments for these two versions should be few.

News Source: Yahoo