Foxconn Raises Pay At Key China iPhone Plant

Applie iPhone assembler Foxconn has raised pay and bonus packages for new hires at its main iPhone plant in Zhengzhou, following weeks of disruption at the plant starting last November.

The disruption, which contributed to Apple’s first quarterly decline in revenue since early 2019, led the US tech firm to seek to diversify production away from Foxconn and China.

But Foxconn has nevertheless been reaffirming its commitment to continued iPhone production in China, the Taiwanese firm’s main manufacturing base.

Its latest pay rises come as Apple prepares to launch the latest generation of the iPhone later this year.

Staff incentives

Foxconn said that from Monday new employees could receive bonuses of up to 3,000 yuan ($424, £343) for at least 90 days of work at the Zhengzhou plant and hourly pay of up to 21 yuan, according to a WeChat post on Saturday, the South China Morning Post reported.

Current employees can receive a referral bonus of 500 yuan, the post said.

Foxconn has already increased employee benefits twice this month, for instance raising the maximum loyalty bonus for new recruits who remain at the plant for three months from 2,000 yuan on 3 May to 2,500 yuan on 22 May.

Apple is expected to announce the iPhone 15 this September, with production expected to take place at the Zhengzhou facility – which can house some 200,000 workers – toward the end of the year.

Diversification

Foxconn is diversifying its production away from China to India and Vietnam, while Apple is reportedly handing key production for the iPhone 16 to rival Luxshare.

Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said in a blog post earlier this month that Apple had awarded new product introduction (NPI) approval for the high-end iPhone 16 Pro Max to Luxshare, with Foxconn expected to produce the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro and Pegatron the iPhone 16 Plus.