Blue-collar applicants are rushing in droves to the world’s largest assembly centre for Apple iPhones; famous for its claims of turning young, unskilled migrant worker from rural China into a production line operator within a few hours.
A recruitment centre at the sprawling Foxconn factory in central China’s Zhengzhou city operates like a well-oiled machine, rapidly processing people and plugging them into Apple’s extensive global supply chain.
This huge influx in worker applications comes ahead of the Apple iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro launch. The undeniably popular smartphone producer unveiled its new products recently, and has since received massive demand from loyal customers. As such, Foxconn’s factories are now heading into production at full speed.
The entire hiring process can take just a few hours in some cases, and it isn’t uncommon to see couples or relatives applying for positions together.
Potential workers know what they are getting themselves into when they apply, since job accommodation and salaries are made public. One potential selling point of a Foxconn position is a nearly US$1,500 bonus if a new employee works at least 55 days during their first three months.
Today, the Zhengzhou complex is one of the largest production facilities in all of China, helping keep the country deeply embedded in the global supply chain. By all accounts, the Foxconn factory is the economic centre of the surrounding area. And the massive population of young people with good-paying jobs has created a vibrant consumer community.
While China’s tech companies have been facing scrutiny from countries across the world as of late. It is undeniable that the huge nation still stands at the top of the global manufacturing supply chain.
However, as production and employment costs slowly rises, regions such as Southeast Asia could potentially be a brand new hub and preferred location to move production to in the near future.
