Thousands Line Up for New iPhone Production Jobs at Foxconn Facilities in China

Back in late December, reports surfaced indicating that Foxconn was planning a major expansion of its iPhone production capabilities in Zhengzhou, China, with the company reportedly investing $1.1 billion and working with the Chinese government to recruit 100,000 new workers to the facility.

foxconn prospective employees zhengzhou
M.I.C gadget now reports that the hiring notices have gone out and thousands of prospective employees have lined up to apply for the positions.

On the 30th of January, thousands of hopefuls stood for hours outside a labor agency located in the Chinese city of Zhengzhou, the largest city of Henan province in north-central China. The lines stretched more than 200 meters along the road, and the people who were waiting in line with their applications just hope to get a job at Foxconn, as the electronics contracting giant ramps up its iPhone production at Zhengzhou plant.

The report cites articles from the Chinese media noting that many of the applicants have prior work experience, with some of them seeking to transfer from Foxconn's other facilities in southern China to be closer to home.

Apple is of course in the middle of booming iPhone 4S sales following the device's launch last October and is now turning its attention to the rapidly-growing Chinese market where the device launched on China Unicom earlier this month and is expected to launch on China Telecom as soon as late next month. The company is obviously also looking ahead to the next-generation iPhone hardware that most expect will debut later this year.

Foxconn and Apple have come under increasing scrutiny over the treatment of employees in Apple's supply chain, with Foxconn being the highest-profile target due to its employment of hundreds of thousands of workers focused on manufacturing Apple products. Apple CEO Tim Cook has expressed concern over some of the allegations presented in recent media reports while also pointing to the company's continuing efforts on the workers' rights front including ongoing audits and outside monitoring of workplace conditions.

Popular Stories

streaming black friday 2025

Black Friday Streaming Deals Include Big Savings on Disney+, Hulu, Apple TV, and More

Monday November 24, 2025 8:03 am PST by
We've been focusing on deals on physical products over the past few weeks, but Black Friday is also a great time of year to purchase a streaming membership. Some of the biggest services have great discounts for new and select returning members this week, including Disney+, Hulu, Paramount+, Peacock, and more. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a...
iOS 26

iOS 26.2 Adds These New Features to Your iPhone

Thursday November 20, 2025 10:50 am PST by
iOS 26.2 is currently in beta testing. The upcoming update includes a handful of new features and changes on the iPhone, including a new Liquid Glass slider for the Lock Screen's clock, offline lyrics for Apple Music, and more. In a recent press release, Apple confirmed that iOS 26.2 will be released to all users in December, but it did not provide a specific release date. Keep reading...
iOS 26 on Three iPhones

iOS 27 Will Reportedly Have Two Key Upgrades

Sunday November 23, 2025 8:48 am PST by
iOS 27 will reportedly have two major elements: quality improvements and new AI features. In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said that iOS 27 will be similar to Mac OS X Snow Leopard, in the sense that Apple is focused on improving "quality and underlying performance" over adding new features. Gurman said there is one exception to this rule, though, as he expects...
maxresdefault

The MacRumors Show: iPhone 18 Pro Looks Like a Huge Upgrade

Friday November 21, 2025 9:10 am PST by
On this week's episode of The MacRumors Show, we talk through all of the new features and improvements expected to come to next year's iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max models. Subscribe to The MacRumors Show YouTube channel for more videos Apple's next-generation iPhones are less than ten months away and we already have a good idea about what to expect based on corroborated leaks, rumors,...
General Black Friday Deals 25 Red

Apple Black Friday Deals Available Now on AirPods, iPads, Accessories, and More

Friday November 21, 2025 8:48 am PST by
We're only a few days away from Black Friday, which will take place on Friday, November 28 in 2025. As always, this will be the best time of the year to shop for great deals, including popular Apple products like AirPods, iPad, Apple Watch, and more. In this article, the majority of the discounts will be found on Amazon. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When...
Apple Shopping Event 2025

Apple Announces 2025 Black Friday Event, Here's What You Can Get

Thursday November 20, 2025 6:28 am PST by
Apple's annual four-day Black Friday through Cyber Monday shopping event is returning on Friday, November 28 through Monday, December 1 in many countries, including the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, Belgium, the Netherlands, Sweden, Thailand, and others. During the shopping event, customers can get an Apple gift card with...
hikawa phone grip stand apple%402x

Apple Launches Second Limited-Edition iPhone Accessory in a Month

Friday November 21, 2025 3:53 am PST by
Apple has begun selling the Hikawa Phone Grip and Stand, a new limited-edition iPhone accessory designed with accessibility in mind. Designed by LA-based Bailey Hikawa to celebrate the 40th anniversary of accessibility at Apple, the grip uses magnets to securely snap onto any iPhone with MagSafe. Apple says it can be removed with ease, and doubles as a stand with two different viewing...
apple news banner

Apple News Loses CNN

Monday November 24, 2025 7:56 am PST by
American multinational news company CNN has abruptly pulled its content from Apple News, Semafor reports. CNN quietly removed its stories from Apple News over the weekend and there is no longer a feed from the network to subscribe to in the app. This effectively ends its distribution agreement with Apple while the two sides negotiate new terms. Discussions are apparently ongoing and CNN's...

Top Rated Comments

thewitt Avatar
180 months ago
The saddest thing about this is the posts by people here who have NO CLUE about anything at Foxconn whatsoever, and only spew the liberal talking points.

I've been there. Seen the working conditions. Spoken with employees.

It's nothing like the bleeding heart hypocrites who send in their articles and commentary would have you believe.

Nothing.

Get over it.

China is a manufacturing giant, with conditions that are not only good for workers today, but are improving all the time.

You want to build product in the US again? You could learn something from a visit to China.
Score: 24 Votes (Like | Disagree)
nagromme Avatar
180 months ago
Do you own any iWhatevers?
Or any electronics at all? Telephones and computers (especially non-disposable ones that go in a landfill after 24 months) are indeed “luxury” items, but they’re not just from Apple. They’re from every electronics maker. Microsoft/Xbox was in a Foxconn suicide story a few weeks ago, but that’s been forgotten...

The world is a mess, China included, and these issues can’t be ignored. But they most certainly can’t be pinned on Apple: doing that gives a free pass to all the companies who, unlike Apple, are not THE best in the industry at watchdogging their Chinese partners. Apple should keep improving, and clearly intends to... but at the same time, everyone else needs to catch up to how “good” Apple is!

Either boycott ALL electronics from China and equivalent places (I strongly respect that choice) or boycott all except those from the best company in that regard: Apple.
Score: 20 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Ryth Avatar
180 months ago
I didn't know "Slaves" had to line-up/apply for jobs...

Sounds like these people want the jobs and are HOPING they even get one of the positions....so lets stop with the slave labor stuff.
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
voonyx Avatar
180 months ago
Because it's Apple-related news? Surely that's reason enough.

I find it strange that Foxconn (& Apple) are singled-out so much. It's not as if China had a great record of employee rights before Foxconn started supplying Apple.

Why? Because everyone's a human rights activist...as they line up to get their iPhones every year...:rolleyes:
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
shompa Avatar
180 months ago
Where are all Apple employes that force Chinese people into slave labour in the picture?
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
DTphonehome Avatar
180 months ago
What?! Don't these unemployed, unskilled, poverty-stricken peasant workers read the New York Times?! Don't they know Foxconn is an AWFUL place to work? Hope they all left comprehensive wills and have large life-insurance policies!

(oh, and btw, /s… there's one in every crowd)
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)