Foxconn’s largest iPhone factory in Zhengzhou, China is expected to resume full production capacity in late December and early January 2023 time frame.
Foxconn’s plant in Zhengzhou is the largest iPhone assembling factory (also called iPhone City) in the world which mostly manufactures iPhone 14 Pro models.
For the past several months, production capacity at the iPhone City has been drastically low due to the latest COVID-19 wave in China. The situation got murkier for Foxconn when the factory itself had a COVID-19 breakout and several workers were seen escaping the facility fearing the closed-loop production system.
However, the new recruits who were hired with promises of handsome daily bonuses rioted in November over unsanitary living conditions and unpaid bonuses and those labor disruptions led to further cut down in production capacity.
Foxconn begins fresh hiring to kick off full production at the iPhone factory in Zhengzhou
According to Reuters, the company said that it has overcome hurdles at iPhone City and the plant would resume full production later this month.
“At present, the overall epidemic situation has been brought under control with November being the most affected period,” the company said in a statement, adding it has started to recruit new employees and was gradually “restoring production capacity to normal”.
Due to China’s zero-COVID policy, Apple confirmed the stringent availability of iPhone 14 Pro models. And the COVID breakout and riots at the Foxconn iPhone plant further reduced production for the holiday season.
Analysts say Foxconn assembles around 70% of iPhones, and the Zhengzhou plant produces the majority of its premium models including iPhone 14 Pro.
Foxconn said November revenue for its smart consumer electronics business, which includes smartphones, declined year on year partly due to a portion of shipments being impacted by production disruptions in Zhengzhou.
Luckily, the situation is moving toward resolution and if all goes smoothly, the plant is likely to run at full production capacity by late December. The report states:
“If the recruitment goes smoothly, it could take around three to four weeks to resume full production,” the person said, pointing to a period around late December to early January.
Foxconn and the local government are working hard on the recruitment drive but many uncertainties remain, according to the source. The person cited “fears” some workers might have about working for the company after the plant was hit by protests last month that sometimes turned violent.
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