Foxconn to Hire 400,000 More in China

Aug. 19, 2010
The expansion plan will boost the company's workforce to 1.3 million.

Taiwan IT giant Foxconn plans to hire up to 400,000 new employees in China over the coming year, partly to keep up production despite cutting maximum overtime hours, officials said on August 19.

The company, a major supplier to brands such as Apple, Dell and Nokia, said the expansion plan will boost its work force to 1.3 million.

"We're not sure if that can be done, but that's the direction we're aiming for," said Foxconn spokesman Arthur Huang.

The planned increase will come about mostly in the central provinces of China as the company seeks to scale back the size of its biggest facility in southern Shenzhen city, he said.

Louis Woo, an assistant to Foxconn CEO Terry Gou, confirmed that the company intended to add 300,000-400,000 new employees over the next year.

"This estimated increment is, in part, a result of reducing maximum overtime hours allowed for employees in line with Chinese government regulations and the companys goal of giving employees increased time outside of the workplace," he said.

"It will be adding new employees to ensure that operations will be maintained at current production levels following the implementation of the reduced overtime program."

A total of 13 Chinese employees have committed suicide this year at Foxconn plants and an affiliate by jumping from buildings, including 10 in Shenzhen. Labor rights activists have blamed the suicides at Foxconn -- the world's largest maker of computer components -- on tough working conditions in its factories. But company founder Gou has said none of the suicides was directly work-related and that he was cleared by Chinese authorities of any wrongdoing in the period leading up to the suicides.

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2010

Popular Sponsored Recommendations

Empowering the Modern Workforce: The Power of Connected Worker Technologies

March 1, 2024
Explore real-world strategies to boost worker safety, collaboration, training, and productivity in manufacturing. Emphasizing Industry 4.0, we'll discuss digitalization and automation...

3 Best Practices to Create a Product-Centric Competitive Advantage with PRO.FILE PLM

Jan. 25, 2024
Gain insight on best practices and strategies you need to accelerate engineering change management and reduce time to market. Register now for your opportunity to accelerate your...

How Manufacturers Can Optimize Operations with Weather Intelligence

Nov. 2, 2023
The bad news? Severe weather has emerged as one of the biggest threats to continuity and safety in manufacturing. The good news? The intelligence solutions that build weather ...

Transformative Capabilities for XaaS Models in Manufacturing

Feb. 14, 2024
The manufacturing sector is undergoing a pivotal shift toward "servitization," or enhancing product offerings with services and embracing a subscription model. This transition...

Voice your opinion!

To join the conversation, and become an exclusive member of IndustryWeek, create an account today!