Following a report yesterday that Apple manufacturing partner Pegatron’s consumer electronics revenue would drop more than expected in the second quarter, it has announced today that it will boost its workforce by 40% in the second half of the year. This significant bump in the workforce is helping to keep the rumors of a low-cost iPhone rolling down the road.
Pegatron’s Chief Financial Officer Charles Lin told Reuters on Thursday that 60 percent of the company’s 2013 revenue would come from the second half.
He declined to comment whether the cheaper iPhone was among the new products to be made in the second half.
Pegatron has long been a manufacturing partner for Apple, and currently assembles the iPhone 4S and the iPad mini for the Cupertino company. However, the majority of Apple’s iOS device assembly is still handled by Foxconn.
Pegatron is reported to employ 100,000 workers in its facilities, with the iPhone 4S and iPad mini each accounting for more than half of Pegatron’s revenue for its communications and consumer electronics divisions.
In related news, Fortune reports that Pegatron CEO Jason Cheng has denied a previous Bloomberg report quoting him as saying weakening demand for Apple’s iPad mini was responsible for the company’s projected revenue decrease. The connection with the iPad mini appears to have simply been speculation in the part of Bloomberg.
In an email to Fortune, Cheng wrote:
After the meeting, one reporter from Bloomberg approached me, trying to dig out detail numbers about some specific product. I clearly refused to comment on specific products, nor customers, even though he continued with other questions. I did say those words that he quotes me in the article “more on demand, while price has been stable”…, “almost every item is moving in a negative direction”…; “Not just tablets, also e-books and games consoles”. But I did not say anything associated with any specific products.
“No indication, nor hint for specific products or customers” has been our principle and guideline for any public events such as investors conference. There are always speculations after these meetings.
