Foxconn To Downsize Workforce Amidst Shrinking Sales Growth

Foxconn Technology Group, the electronics manufacturer behind components in Apple’s iPhone, will cut its workforce due to declining revenue growth. Foxconn also pinned the blame on rising wages in China.

The firm, under the flagship unit Hon Hai Precision Industry Co Ltd, currently employs around 1.3 million people at peak production times. Its clients include Microsoft, Sony, Amazon, and Apple, and is the main supplier of components for Apple’s iPhone and iPad.

Foxconn has ‘stabilised its workforce’

Special assistant to the chairman of the group, Louis Woo, told Reuters that it is true the company plans to reduce the overall headcount.

He said: “We’ve basically stabilised (our workforce) in the last three years.”

Foxconn’s revenue growth fell 1.3 percent in 2013, and then climbed marginally to 6.5 percent in 2014. These numbers come in contrast to the double-digit increases from 2003 to 2012, said Reuters.

IDC recently reported that smartphone sales in 2015 will be just half that of 2014, with PC sales nose-diving 3 percent. Woo said: “Even if technology is improving, the price will still come down.

“We’ve come to accept that, our customers have come to accept that.”