Apple partner Foxconn has halted hiring of any new employees until the end of March, but says the decision was not related to Apple iPhone 5 production, or the lack thereof.
Bruce Liu, spokesman for Foxconn, dispelled rumors in an interview with Bloomberg, and revealed that the hiring freeze was put into place after more workers returned from the Chinese New Year break than did last year.
An earlier report from the Financial Times claimed that the freeze on hiring was put in place because iPhone 5 production has begun to slow. That comment was attributed to Foxconn spokesman Liu Kun.
The rumors of slowed iPhone 5 production caused Apple’s stock to take a hit in early trading on Wednesday, causing shares to drop as much as 1.9%. Shares did begin to recover their losses later in the morning, as the initial report was contradicted.
