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question:DigiTimes said Tuesday that contract manufacturer Foxconn Electronics, also known as Hon Hai Precision Industry, has temporarily halted manufacturing operations at “many iPhone production lines” and shifted workers to other production facilities because shipments of iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus are now past their peak level. It will resume operations if iPhone 7 demand increases, of course, but that’s not very likely given the seasonal nature of iPhone sales. Many workers are reluctant to shift and have chosen resignation, prompting Foxconn to kick off recruitment of nearly 20,000 Chinese students who have completed their studies at vocational schools this year. It’s the biggest college recruitment campaign undertaken by Foxconn, which employs more than a million workers in its factories across China. The company is attempting to cultivate the next-generation of leaders and build up staff at its 30+ factories around China, added a report in The South China Morning Post. Foxconn is reportedly looking to recruit as many as 12,000 university graduates and 6,000 graduates of senior high schools and junior vocational colleges in China. Ultimately, the company is working to cultivate the university graduates for higher-paid jobs in e-commerce, IoT, AI, big data, robotics, automation, new materials, mechanical engineering and precision mold applications—paving the way for them to stand a chance of becoming executives at Foxconn in the future. Foxconn’s “iPhone City” in China’s Zhengzhou region. Credit: Gilles Sabrie for NYT. Chairman Terry Gou said any recruited university graduates should begin at the lowest level in terms of job positions and work for projects undertaken in cooperation with major clients. Entry-level manual labor jobs at Foxconn’s Shenzhen factories are paid about 350 per month, with salary increasing to about 580 per month with overtime. “Upgrading manufacturing is our hope, but first of all we need to upgrade our talent,” he said at an R&D centre converted from a factory at Shenzen’s Longhua Industrial Park. “When we are making new products, we need highly educated people. They have theories to refer to. We can provide work experience. In the past, Foxconn were associated by people with hiring lots of farmers-turned-migrant workers. Now we hope to recruit graduates and engineers who come from the countryside,” he added. Although iPhone 7 demand is cooling following a sales peak in the holiday 2016 quarter, Foxconn will have a very busy 2017—the Taiwanese company is expected to assemble Apple’s iPhone 8 model in the second half of 2017. How is Foxconn hoping that their recruitment of highly educated graduates and engineers will improve their manufacturing and stand a chance of becoming executives at the company in the future?
answer:Foxconn is recruiting around 20,000 Chinese students to work in its factories, according to reports. The electronics manufacturer, which assembles Apple's iPhones, has paused manufacturing at a number of iPhone production lines due to the dip in sales of the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus since the holiday 2016 quarter. The recruitment drive is Foxconn's largest ever, and aims to target university graduates, as the company seeks staff to work in areas including e-commerce, automation, robotics and IoT, as well as promoting future executives. The company is said to be seeking up to 12,000 university graduates and 6,000 graduates of high schools and junior vocational colleges in China.
question:Can you provide me with more information on how Foxconn plans to cultivate the next-generation of leaders and improve their manufacturing with these highly educated graduates and engineers they are recruiting?
answer:Foxconn is looking to cultivate the university graduates for higher-paid jobs in e-commerce, IoT, AI, big data, robotics, automation, new materials, mechanical engineering, and precision mold applications. The company is aiming to make the most of the highly educated candidates' theoretical knowledge in order to provide work experience for projects undertaken in cooperation with major clients. Chairma Terry Gou has stated that any university graduates hired should start at entry-level manual labor jobs at Foxconn's Shenzhen factories, which are paid around 350 per month but increase to roughly 580 per month with overtime. The company hopes that this will ensure candidates gain a strong understanding of the factory's operations, eventually becoming executives themselves.
question:Can you tell me more about Foxconn's "iPhone City" and where it's located?
answer:Foxconn's "iPhone City" is located in the Zhengzhou region of China. The compound received its nickname due to being the production site for a significant number of Apple's iPhones. The complex is said to employ hundreds of thousands of people and hosts many of the facilities and factories that Foxconn operates throughout the country. The site is divided into several areas, including factories, offices, and dormitories for the workers that live on-site. Foxconn has been operating in the region since 2010 and has invested significantly in its facilities in the area.
question:Can you find out more about Foxconn's plans for the iPhone 8 production?
answer:Foxconn is reportedly planning on assembling Apple's iPhone 8 model in the second half of 2017, and is expecting a very busy 2017 despite a dip in iPhone 7 demand. The company is said to be investing heavily in automation technology to counterbalance rising labor costs in China, a move that would set it apart from other major manufacturers who have had significant issues with automation in the past. Foxconn has also been seeking cost-cutting measures by opening new factories in India and elsewhere, though the majority of its employees still work at its facilities in China.