iPhone assembler Foxconn dangles big bonuses to entice workers amid CCP’s ‘Zero COVID’ lockdowns

Apple’s main iPhone assembler Foxconn is offering big bonuses to entice workers back to its Zhengzhou, China factory after the Chinese Communist Party’s quixotic “Zero COVID” lockdowns set off widespread unrest. Apple faces a significant shortfall of the most-wanted iPhone 14 Pro models for the crucial Christmas shopping season.
The logo of electronics contract manufacturer Foxconn Technology Group, formally known as Hon Hai Precision Industry, is displayed at its headquarters in Taipei. Photo: Agence France-Presse
Arjun Kharpal for CNBC:

Foxconn said Tuesday that it will give a 500 Chinese yuan ($70) payment to returning workers, a 3,000 yuan bonus for those who stay more than 30 days and a 6,000 yuan January bonus. It comes a day after the company said it would pay wages of up to 13,000 yuan for some workers in December and January.
Analysts at Evercore ISI estimate the Zhengzhou factory accounts for more than 70% of Apple’s global iPhone production, highlighting the Cupertino-based giant’s reliance on China as a manufacturing hub, even as geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and China rise and Beijing’s strict “zero-Covid” policy causes supply chain disruptions.
The Zhengzhou protests and walkout is likely to have a revenue impact on Apple, according to a note published by Evercore ISI on Monday.
Evercore ISI analysts said that iPhone demand could be affected by 5 million to 8 million units in the December quarter, mostly at the high-end of Apple’s smartphone range, and that could negatively impact revenue by $5 billion to $8 billion.

MacDailyNews Take: Again, “These iPhone 14 Pro sales are merely deferred, not lost. Some may shift down to iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus, but most buyers will simply wait for supply to catch up amidst strong demand.”
As for the CCP’s “Zero COVID” idiocy, here’s how it’s going:

#freedom4U #China
White suited Covid stormtroopers entering every area of protests in an attempt to crush dissidents. pic.twitter.com/ox1AzWCP1u
— Greg Sayle (@freedom4UU) November 29, 2022

China protests – latest: 'Utterly extraordinary' scenes as protesters shout 'down with Xi Jinping' https://t.co/z0Fmhpr9Fw
— Nahid Alaei (@NahidAlaei) November 29, 2022

This is what triggered the protests in #China
Families in a Hi-Rise in Urumqi, Xinjiang, were locked into their apartments (because of a #Covid lockdown), as their building caught fire.
They were burned alive as they couldn't escape & no help arrived in time.
1/2 pic.twitter.com/taoTLzeiFc
— IncredibleIndian (@Incredi00611910) November 29, 2022

China Agrees to Relax Lockdown Restrictions Amid Protests Against Jinping’s Zero-COVID Policy https://t.co/N3gb0GcKDx
— Magxnews (@magxnews) November 29, 2022

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