Foxconn has ceased its ramping up of hiring of new employees for its iPhone assembly line. Apple’s main iPhone assembly partner said it would stop hiring new workers for its plant in Zhengzhou, China, after new COVID-19 lockdowns and restrictions were imposed on the city.
Earlier this week, Foxconn was indicating that it would be hiring more workers to meet increased demand, as well as dealing with demand caused by supply constraints for the upcoming iPhone 14 lineup. South China Morning Post reports:
The suspension came on the heels of the Taiwanese company’s plans earlier this week to boost recruitment by offering higher cash bonuses, the agencies said in posts on Tencent Holdings platform WeChat and ByteDance-owned Douyin, the Chinese version of global hit short video app TikTok.
The move to suspend the hiring of new assembly line workers could complicate the iPhone 14 production schedule of Foxconn, which has run its smartphone and components production in Zhengzhou under a “closed-loop” system that confines employees within its campus.
At the moment, Apple is not expected to drastically delay the launch of the iPhone 14 series, like it was forced to delay the launch of the iPhone 12 till October 2020, rather than September. Some reports indicate Apple could be faced with a similar delay for the iPhone 14.
(Via MacRumors)