After countless employees left the facility due to a Covid outbreak, the largest iPhone factory in the world in central China informed its staff that it would quadruple their bonuses if they stayed.
As the last major economy to commit to a zero-Covid strategy, China continues to implement sudden lockdowns, extensive testing, and protracted quarantines in an effort to contain spreading outbreaks.
A large portion of the nation now lives under an ever-changing mosaic of Covid curbs as a result of new variants that have tested local authorities’ capacity to put out flare-ups before they spread.
According to the official WeChat account of Foxconn’s Zhengzhou plant, daily bonuses for employees of a Foxconn unit responsible for producing electronics including smartphones at the site have been increased from previously announced bonuses of 100 yuan to 400 yuan ($54.72) per day for November.
70% of all iPhone shipments worldwide are made by Foxconn, formerly known as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co Ltd. Although it has other smaller production facilities in south China and India, the Zhengzhou plant, where it employs about 200,000 people, produces the majority of the company’s phones.
Discontent with the strict measures to stop the spread of COVID-19 has rocked the Zhengzhou plant, and several employees left the facility over the weekend after venting on social media about their treatment and accommodations.
According to a source cited by Reuters on Monday, the situation may cause a 30% drop in iPhone production at the plant in November, and Foxconn is working to increase output at a different factory in Shenzhen to make up for the shortfall.
Tuesday saw a 1% decline in Foxconn’s stock, trailing a 0.4% increase in the larger index.
A senior unnamed Foxconn executive was cited in an article published on Monday by the government-backed Henan Daily newspaper that described the original bonus programme.
As part of an effort to “gradually resume orderly production” and to “thank our fellow employees’ persistence,” Foxconn said in a notice on Tuesday that those who work for more than 25 days may be eligible for a maximum bonus of 5,000 yuan for the month. Previously, the maximum bonus was 1,500 yuan.
The notice also stated that individuals who put forth their “full effort” in November, including forgoing any leave, may receive compensation totaling more than 15,000 yuan for the month.
The average monthly wage at Foxconn is between 3,000 and 4,000 yuan.
For the second day in a row, China reported more than 2,000 new domestic infections as curbs were tightened in response to a wave of regional outbreaks.
Guangzhou, a major manufacturing hub in southern China, announced partial lockdowns in a number of its districts on Monday in response to an increase in cases.
On Tuesday, Guangzhou reported more than 520 new infections.
As winter approaches, new outbreaks have also appeared in northern cities close to China’s border with Russia and North Korea.
