Ongoing competition among manufacturers for production line workers has Foxconn raising bonuses again when it hires iPhone 14 workers over the summer. With fewer people wanting to work on production assembly lines and a shrinking labor pool, technology companies are competing fie

Ongoing competition among manufacturers for production line workers has seen Foxconn increase bonuses again as it recruits iPhone 14 workers over the summer. With fewer people wanting to work on production assembly lines and a shrinking labor pool, technology companies are competing fiercely for workers. Apple Inc.Foxconn, the major iPhone maker, has already been hiring in advance for the summer rush, but now it is ramping up incentives.

According to the South China Morning Post, new workers at the Zhengzhou factory will receive a bonus equivalent to US$1,345 if they stay for more than four months. The previous year, the amount at this stage was around $1,193, but later peaked at $1,521 in August 2021.

It's common for new workers to be offered some form of bonus, but now Foxconn is also offering $1,420 to employees who leave and return, also if they stay for more than four months. The company is also offering returning workers the same wages they paid before they left.

The Zhengzhou factory accounts for 80% of iPhones shipped globally.

This hiring spree is weeks behind years before COVID-19 started to take hold. The 2020 iPhone launches were later than the normal pace of previous years, and the 2021 lineup returns to a more traditional release window but with more restrictions at retail than before the COVID-19 pandemic.