Advertisement
Foxconn
TechBig Tech

Apple’s biggest contractor Foxconn pumps new investment into facilities in northern China as ‘iPhone City’ struggles

  • Foxconn Technology Group said it has made 1 billion yuan (US$142 million) in new investment towards its facilities in the northern Chinese city of Taiyuan
  • The company is scrambling to restore production capacity after an estimated tens of thousands of workers fled its sprawling campus in Zhengzhou

Reading Time:2 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
1
A motorcycle speeds past Foxconn’s building in Taipei, Taiwan. Photo: Reuters
Ann Caoin Shanghai

Foxconn Technology Group, Apple’s biggest contractor, has injected 1 billion yuan (US$142 million) in fresh capital into its facilities in northern China, as its iPhone factory in the central Chinese city of Zhengzhou – the largest in the world – struggles to meet production targets amid a severe manpower shortage.

The investment was made towards a Foxconn subsidiary in Taiyuan, capital of Shanxi province, according to a stock exchange filing on Friday. The province is listed by Apple as one of Foxconn’s primary locations for the manufacturing of Apple products in mainland China, along with six other provinces including Henan and Jiangsu.

03:02

Foxconn dangles incentives for workers as iPhone shortages plague holiday season

Foxconn dangles incentives for workers as iPhone shortages plague holiday season

The Taiyuan plant, established in the early 2000s, mainly produces electronic components, mobile communication systems, smartphones and digital cameras, public information shows.

Foxconn, formally known as Hon Hai Precision Industry, called the latest move a “long-term investment” without further elaborations.

It comes as the company scrambles to restore production capacity after its campus in Zhengzhou lost an estimated tens of thousands of workers who fled last month in fear of a Covid-19 outbreak. The sprawling compound, dubbed ‘iPhone City’, usually hires some 300,000 people this time of the year to cope with a surge in holiday orders.
A subsequent attempt to introduce new hires to the factory compound – which was responsible for producing 80 per cent of iPhone 14 and 85 per cent of iPhone 14 Pro, according to Counterpoint Research – led to violent protests over work allowances.
Advertisement