Foxconn is on a hiring spree in China as it gets ready for mass production of the 2019 iPhones.
Apple typically sells millions in the first week of a new iPhone launch and reports suggest the 2019 lineup will have three handsets, including two featuring a three-camera array on the backplate.
Apple is expected to introduce the new iPhones at its September product launch.
Foxconn, which assembles most of Apple’s iPhones, typically hires scores of temporary workers for iPhone launches to keep up with the demands through the holidays.
Smartphone sales worldwide have slumped and iPhone users are waiting longer to upgrade. Earlier this year, Apple reduced iPhone production by 10 percent and Foxconn let go of more than 50,000 workers at its factories in China.
A report in today’s Economic Daily News, based in Taiwan, said Foxconn operated a big recruiting event over the weekend and is offering workers the equivalent of $650 to sign on. The report also said online registration for the jobs was greater than usual.
Future iPhone assembly could move out of China as Apple develops a pivot strategy with the US and China in a trade dispute.
Earlier this summer, Foxconn indicated to Apple it could produce all iPhones headed to the U.S in facilities outside of China. This would help Apple avoid the impacts of billions of dollars in proposed tariffs on Chinese-made goods.
