14 DAY TRIAL // Foxconn is preparing to start mass production of Apple’s upcoming new iPhone by hiring 10,000 new workers to handle the assembly line, according to a new report.
FoxBusiness reports on a Wall Street Journal account that “The Taiwanese company said Monday it has added about 10,000 assembly-line workers per week in Zhengzhou, its major production facility for iPhones, since the last week of March.”
Citing an actual spokesman who declined to elaborate any further on Foxconn’s plans, the report adds that “Foxconn will continue to expand its workforce in Zhengzhou to meet seasonal demand from clients.”
Even more strange is the quoting of several other executives who are familiar with the situation and reportedly said “the company has stepped up hiring in Zhengzhou because it is preparing for production of the new iPhone.”
A Zhengzhou-based executive who reportedly has direct knowledge of Foxconn’s production plans for the next-generation smartphone from Apple said, “We have been very busy recently as we will start mass-producing the new iPhone soon.”
It is not unheard of for Foxconn to leak production plans with Apple, but never in the history of the duo’s partnership have so many executives spilled the beans on production plans for a new iPhone.
The backbone of the FoxBusiness report is this flurry of unnamed Foxconn executives which seem suspiciously keen to let the word out that they’re preparing to make a new iPhone.
As much as we’d like to believe the report is accurate, we can only label this tidbit as a rumor for now.
The report also mentions Apple’s rumored plans for a cheaper version of the iPhone, as well as the Wall Street Journal report stating that production of the next-generation iPhone will kick off in Q2 of 2013.
Apple is expected to launch its new iPhone and the annual WWDC conference this summer.
It is still unclear whether this year will witness the introduction of yet another incremental “S” upgrade, or the next-generation iPhone 6. We’re hoping for the latter.