Foxconn Zhengzhou is offering workers who fled the compound over coronavirus fears a one-off 500 yuan subsidy if they agree to return to work, as the world’s largest iPhone factory tries to minimise the fallout from a Covid-19 lockdown imposed by local authorities.
A notice posted on Monday by the Foxconn unit responsible for iPhone production said the “care and love” subsidy was a “pre-hiring” offer as workers would not be able to return to the compound until the seven-day lockdown imposed by local authorities was lifted on Wednesday this week.
Workers who fled the compound from October 10 to November 5 have been told to register at local labour agencies if they are willing to return, and that Foxconn will organise transport to get them back into the compound in a “point to point, closed-loop manner” once the lockdown in the Zhengzhou Airport Economic Zone, where Foxconn is located, is lifted.
There is no official estimate of how many workers have left Foxconn. According to the notice on Monday, Foxconn is also looking for part-time workers, offering an hourly rate of 30 yuan – the standard pay for peak production season at the factory – until February 15, 2023.
