China Urging Retired Soldiers to Help Foxconn iPhone Plant

A poster with a Foxconn logo is seen at a conference in Taipei. File photo: Reuters.

Chinese authorities have appealed to retired soldiers and government workers to take on shifts at Foxconn’s Covid-hit iPhone factory in Zhengzhou.

Local government chiefs have reportedly urged them to help take up the slack with many of the firm’s workers in enforced isolation, the official Shanghai Securities News reported on Tuesday.

The plant, the world’s largest iPhone manufacturing facility, has been hit by discontent over government mandated measures to curb the spread of Covid-19, which required the company to isolate many workers but also prompted many others to flee in recent weeks.

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The calls to retired workers have come from authorities in cities such as Jiyuan and Kaifeng, who are saying that those who take up the offer will be eligible to receive their current salary plus wages and bonuses from the factory, the publication said in a piece on its official WeChat account.

Foxconn declined to comment on the hiring schemes, and also declined to give further updates on the Zhengzhou plant’s manufacturing status.

Apple last week lowered its forecast for shipments of the premium iPhone 14 model due to the situation. It was reported last month that Foxconn’s production of Apple’s iPhones at the Zhengzhou factory could slump by as much as 30% in November.

Earlier this month, Foxconn quadrupled bonuses for workers who stayed and also began a recruitment drive that advertised higher than usual salaries.

Reuters with additional editing by Sean O’Meara

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Sean O'Meara

Sean O'Meara is an Editor at Asia Financial. He has been a newspaper man for more than 30 years, working at local, regional and national titles in the UK as a writer, sub-editor, page designer and print editor. A football, cricket and rugby fan, he has a particular interest in sports finance.