Foxconn reportedly ramping up recruitment for next iPhone

Foxconn is commencing a large-scale recruitment drive and reports are pointing to preparations for the production of Apple's next iPhone in its factories.

Citing company insiders, China Business News reported on Tuesday that Foxconn was hiring for its integrated digital product business group to manufacture a new phone, but did not state the total number of workers targeted as new hires.

One of the sources said the Foxconn plant in China's Henan province currently has 200,000 workers, lower than the 300,000 workers last year during the peak production season.

The report also stated even though Apple had outsourced part of its iPhone and iPad production to another Taiwanese manufacturer, Pegatron, Foxconn still produced 32.16 million iPhones from January to May this year, which was a year-on-year increase of 46.7 percent. In May alone, the number of iPhones manufactured by Foxconn stood at 7.86 million.

The Taiwanese manufacturer, however, was affected by Apple's plans to diversify its supply chain, China Business News pointed out. Foxconn's workforce has been reduced by one third compared to the same time last year, while Pegatron said it would increase its employee count by 30 to 40 percent in the second half of this year.

In June, Foxconn announced a partnership with Mozilla to develop at least five new devices including a tablet, and subsequently tied up with Taiwan Mobile to unveil a low-cost smartphone, A5, which will go on sale in mid-July.

In May, the manufacturer was reportedly gauging a bid for 4G spectrum in Taiwan after investing US$8.7 million in a local fiber optic provider.