INDUSTRY DOWNTURN: A number of firms that supply components for smartphones have told their employees that there would be no required overtime for the holiday

Taipei Times
Date: Jan 23, 2019
By: Ted Chen  /  Staff reporter

Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海), the world’s largest contract electronics manufacturer, yesterday denied media reports that it in October last year begun massive layoffs at its Chinese plants to cope with one of the most severe downturns in the smartphone industry in a decade.

Workforce adjustments at facilities are a routine part of operations based on shifts in global strategy and client needs, Hon Hai said in a filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange, adding that it aims to hire 50,000 workers at its Chinese campuses.

The company, a primary assembler of Apple Inc’s iPhones, said that it remains committed to preparing workers for a transformation toward industrial Internet and smart manufacturing technologies.

The announcement came after a highly cited Nikkei report on Friday last week that said the company has sacked 50,000 seasonal contract workers at its most important iPhone factory in Zhengzhou, Henan Province, and is looking to cut a total of 100,000 jobs.
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