Foxconn reportedly dangles US$1,000 bonus for new workers as it resumes production
- The Taiwanese electronics maker is said to be offering new hires at its Zhengzhou plant incentives that could be worth several months of their basic pay
- Delays in production schedules due to the coronavirus outbreak “will have a negative impact” on Foxconn’s annual revenues, it said in a statement
Foxconn Technology Group, the world’s largest contract electronics maker, is dangling big bonuses to lure new workers after its factories in China were shut down during the coronavirus outbreak, according to local reports.
The Taiwanese company – which is the main assembler of iPhones – had to delay the reopening of its factories until after the Lunar New Year holiday as part of efforts to contain the outbreak.
Now, it is offering new hires in its main assembly site in Zhengzhou, the capital city of Henan province, up to 7,000 yuan (US$995) in incentives if they meet certain conditions, according to a report by tech news site chinastarmarket.cn, citing local employment agencies.
Foxconn gets back to work
The fat incentives could be an effort to make up for lost time due to the closures. “We can confirm that the virus-related production schedules will have a negative impact on our annual revenues,” Foxconn said in a written statement in response to enquiries by the Post.
Foxconn, formally known as Hon Hai Precision Industry, declined to confirm reports about its incentive packages, saying that it does not comment on “market speculation regarding any aspect of our business operations” as a matter of company policy.
The company has also not publicly commented on how much it has been able to resume output. Reuters reported earlier this month that it hopes to resume half of its production in China by month-end and that only about 10 per cent of Foxconn’s workforce had returned to factories, but the company has said that the news agency’s reports on its overall resumption schedule for its mainland China plants were “not factual”.
“With the current public health challenges linked to the coronavirus, we continue to place a high priority on the welfare of all our employees and we are applying all recommended health and hygiene practices, in accordance with the local laws and regulations, as part of our effort to ensure their health and safety,” the company said in its statement on Monday, adding that it was taking a “cautious approach” in its post-holiday production schedules in its China facilities.
The electronics manufacturer said that while its facilities in China have been delayed in their return to normal operations, its factories in a number of other markets, including Vietnam, India and Mexico, are running at full capacity.
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