‘REGULAR ANNUAL MOVE’: The iPhone assembler said in an internal memo that it plans to cut 20 billion yuan in expenses and 10% of non-technical staff next year

Taipei Times
Date: Nov 25, 2018
By: Bloomberg

Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海) chairman Terry Gou (郭台銘) yesterday said the biggest assembler of iPhones is not cutting research and development (R&D) spending as demand for the smartphones cools.

“No matter how stupid we are, we are certainly not cutting research and development expenses,” Gou said in an interview outside a polling station in Taiwan, where people were voting in the nine-in-one elections. “Our business is very good up till at least January.”

An internal memo obtained by Bloomberg News earlier this week said that the contract manufacturer aims to cut 20 billion yuan (US$2.88 billion) from expenses next year, as it faces “a very difficult and competitive year.”

Hon Hai’s iPhone business would need to reduce expenses by 6 billion yuan next year and the company plans to eliminate about 10 percent of non-technical staff, the memo said.    [FULL  STORY]