The South China Morning Post on Wednesday reported that Apple’s main assembly partner Foxconn is offering a $718 subsidy for employees to keep working following COVID-19-related employee issues.
Workers will be required to stay in essential roles at the Foxconn Zhengzhou iPhone factory from January 1 to March 20. Workers must be valid employees on March 20, when Foxconn will pay the bonus.
Workers can receive a 6,000 yuan ($862) bonus if they work more than 23 days in January 2023.
Foxconn’s Zhengzhou plant employs approximately 200,000 workers and is Foxconn’s largest iPhone factory. Foxconn assembles 70% of all iPhones sold by Apple. The company has struggled to retain employees, due to China’s restrictive lockdowns required by the country’s zero-COVID policy.
The Zhengzhou plant was hit by stringent COVID-19 restrictions last month after an outbreak at the factory. The outbreak caused the city of about 10 million people to be locked down.
Riots soon broke out as workers protested over living standards and a failure to pay promised bonuses, which Foxconn put down to a “technical error” when hiring new recruits.