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Source: Times Finance Author: Ke Meng

Foxconn is also increasing its investment in Zhengzhou. At the end of July, Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd. released a major investment announcement that Foxconn will invest in the construction of a new business headquarters building in Zhengzhou to carry the functions of the new business headquarters.

The first phase of the project is located in Zhengdong New District, with a construction area of ​​about 700 mu and a total investment of about 1 billion yuan. It mainly builds seven centers, including the headquarters management center, R&D center and engineering center, strategic industry development center, strategic industry financial platform, industry research institute and key talent center, marketing center, and supply chain management center.

The new factory is not positioned in the traditional OEM business, but is aimed at developing new energy related businesses, includingnew energy vehiclesComplete vehicle, energy storage battery, digital medical and robotics industrial bases, etc.

The "Several Measures to Solidly Promote Economic Steady and Improving Development in the Second Half of 2024" issued by the Henan Provincial Government in late July this year proposed striving to exceed 1.5 million vehicles in annual automobile production, including more than 800,000 new energy vehicles.

Foxconn and Zhengzhou are heading in both directions again. Times Finance noticed that with only a little over a month left before the official release of the iPhone 16 series, the demand for employees at Foxconn in Zhengzhou has once again reached a peak. Several internal employees and recruiters told Times Finance that Foxconn's Zhengzhou factory has stepped up its efforts and entered the sprint stage of production.

The production line is expanding and recruiting workers, and the bonus has increased to 7,500 yuan

As the launch of Apple's new models approaches, a large number of workers are flocking to Foxconn in Zhengzhou.

Times Finance learned that the peak period for iPhone product shipments is from August to December each year, which is also the peak season for the industry. At the end of July, Chen Da, a recruitment agent for Foxconn in Zhengzhou, started to get busy. He posted recruitment information for Foxconn in Zhengzhou on major job search groups and social platforms.

Chen Da told Times Finance that the demand for workers on the production line is growing rapidly, with the highest hourly wage for workers rising to 25 yuan, and a bonus of 7,500 yuan for working in the manufacturing workshop for three months. "At least 50,000 new employees have joined the factory in the past two weeks, and we are still recruiting on a large scale. If there is still a shortage of manpower in subsequent production, it is not a problem to increase the bonus to 8,000 yuan." According to him, the current production line is already in full mass production of the new iPhone 16.

"June was relatively easy, but from mid-July onwards, the work intensity was maxed out, with an average of more than two hours of overtime a day. New employees joined in large numbers, and their overall proficiency could not keep up, resulting in everyone's workload approaching saturation," an employee on Foxconn's assembly line told Times Finance.

Wang Di, who has been working for less than a week, also felt the tense atmosphere of the production line - the restaurant is often full during peak meal times. He told Times Finance that recently, because some production lines failed to meet the required production, the entire production line had to work overtime to catch up.

"After entering the peak production season, asking for leave will be criticized," Wang Di told Times Finance. This is Wang Di's third time in the factory, and like most short-term temporary workers, he values ​​the generous bonus system during the peak employment period.

Generally speaking, the mobility of workers at Foxconn in Zhengzhou is relatively high. During the peak season, the average monthly income of general workers is 5,000-7,000 yuan, while in the off-season when there is less overtime, the average monthly income of general workers is 3,000-5,000 yuan.

iPhone 16 shoulders heavy responsibility, Foxconn wants to realize its "car-making dream"

At the 2024 Apple Developer Conference held in June this year, Apple launched "Apple Smart". Industry insiders predict that the iPhone 16 will become Apple's first AI phone, which can deeply embed AI into the system and comprehensively improve the capabilities of the intelligent voice assistant Siri.

Recently, there have been reports that Apple has fine-tuned the stocking target for the iPhone 16 series, and the adjusted stocking target is approximately 90 million units.

Another source revealed that Apple has told suppliers and partners that their goal is to ship about 10% more new iPhones than the previous generation. In the second half of 2023, iPhone 15 shipments will be 81 million units.

Apple's operations in Greater China are under pressure. Financial report data shows that in the second quarter of 2024, Apple's revenue in Greater China was US$14.7 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 6.5%. It was the only market in the major regions to decline, and the decline was greater than expected. In the view of industry insiders, the iPhone 16 series products focus on AI functions, which may drive iPhone users to change their phones.

The production of the high-end iPhone 16 series is still undertaken by factories in China. Wedbush Securities analyst Ives said that Indian factories can produce some basic models or other parts of Apple hardware. But high-end models such as Pro and Pro Max will continue to be produced in China.

Before 2013, Foxconn had contracted almost all iPhone manufacturing. To meet the growth in iPhone sales, Foxconn's mainland employees once expanded to 1.3 million. However, after Foxconn lost its exclusive manufacturing rights, it had to turn to other businesses.

Foxconn's Industrial Internet (601138.SH) has reopened the market with AI servers. On the evening of August 4, Industrial Internet released its 2024 semi-annual performance report, with revenue of 266.09 billion yuan in the first half of the year, a year-on-year increase of 28.69%; net profit attributable to shareholders of the parent company of 8.74 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 22.04%, both of which set new records since its listing.

Foxconn explained that benefiting from the strong growth in demand for AI servers, the company relied on its vertical integration capabilities covering the entire AI industry chain.cloud computingStrong business revenue growth has driven the company's revenue and profitability growth.

In the automotive field, Foxconn has been in the industry for a long time. In 2005, Foxconn acquired Antai Electric, one of the four largest automotive wiring harness companies in Taiwan. In 2010, Hon Hai won an order from Tesla and became a supplier of Tesla's central control touch screen panels, connectors, and covers. In addition, Foxconn also established Hon Hua Advanced Technology Co., Ltd. in a joint venture with Yulon Motors, and released three new cars in 2021, including Model C, SUV Model E andModel T。

In early 2024, Foxconn New Energy Vehicle Industry Development (Henan) Co., Ltd. was established and registered in Zhengzhou Airport Economic Zone, Henan Province. The new company is 100% owned by Foxconn New Business Development Group Co., Ltd., and its business scope includes parts, new materials and automobile sales.

(Chen Da and Wang Di are pseudonyms in this article)