Apple supplier Foxconn stays put in Henan

Plants on mainland offer generous bonuses to attract talented workers

Zhang Mingxin, 25, recently found a new job as a product quality inspector at Foxconn Technology Group's plant in Zhengzhou, capital of Central China's Henan province, where about 50 percent of the world's iPhones are made.

About two years ago, Zhang took a part-time job for more than one month during his summer vacation on Foxconn's Zhengzhou assembly line.

"My basic monthly salary is now 2,200 yuan ($305.3) and I (will) receive a 7,500 yuan bonus for staff who previously worked at Foxconn for over one month and returned," Zhang said.

The unemployment rate among young people aged 16 to 24 has remained high this year amid downward economic pressure. Zhang said young job seekers are struggling to find satisfying work this year, and it is very timely that Foxconn launched such a bonus package for returnees.

He said the Zhengzhou plant's benefits package is attractive, as he can enjoy daily living subsidies, affordable meals in the employees' canteen and accommodation for just 150 yuan each month.

Known as the world's largest contract manufacturer in electronics, Foxconn has ramped up hiring in Zhengzhou by offering a bonus plan, as the world's largest iPhone factory prepares for the production of new iPhone models that are expected to launch in September.

In addition to the one-time 7,500 yuan bonus for returning employees, Foxconn's Zhengzhou plant is offering experienced workers who have had more than two stints at Foxconn a bonus of 8,000 yuan, according to a job recruitment advertisement published by the Zhengzhou campus.

It is the highest bonus offered by the factory since production was disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic last November.

Foxconn, also known as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co, is a major supplier of Apple Inc. The company's Zhengzhou plant is the largest manufacturing base for Apple's iPhone, and has more than 90 production lines and over 300,000 workers.

In addition, Foxconn's plant in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, is offering a bonus of up to 6,980 yuan for new employees, according to recruitment posts on its Shenzhen campus.

The bonus packages for workers in Zhengzhou and Shenzhen underscored Foxconn's commitment to continue assembling iPhones on the Chinese mainland, said Pan Helin, co-director of the Digital Economy and Financial Innovation Research Center at Zhejiang University's International Business School.

Pan said the hiring spree at Foxconn comes amid promising signs that China will remain a key manufacturing base for Apple, while emphasizing that China is playing an irreplaceable role in global industrial and supply chains, and the biggest advantage of China's manufacturing lies in its complete industrial chain system.

Liu Young-way, chairman and CEO of Foxconn, denied that Apple planned to move its supply chains out of the Chinese mainland, amid growing concerns that Apple is diversifying its supply chains by investing in other countries and regions, and may relocate factories to India.

Liu made the remarks at the 14th Annual Meeting of the New Champions, also known as the Summer Davos Forum, which concluded on June 29 in Tianjin.

Liu said the new energy vehicle sector will be the next key segment for Foxconn.

"We call it the '3+3 strategy': electric vehicles, digital health and robotics, which are three emerging industries underpinned by three future core technologies, namely artificial intelligence, semiconductors and future communications," he said.

Since the beginning of this year, Liu has made several trips to Foxconn factories in Zhengzhou and Chengdu, Sichuan province. In May, Liu visited Chengdu and told workers at its plant there that the company has no plans to leave the city and that its plant, which employs over 100,000 people, remains an important production base.

Foxconn unveiled its new business headquarters in Zhengzhou in April, which covers emerging business segments such as EVs, batteries and robotics, and the company will continue to increase investment in building new production lines and factories.