Foxconn Cut 50,000 Contract Workers Months Ahead of Schedule Due to Poor iPhone Demand

Apple supplier Foxconn has let go around 50,000 contract workers at its iPhone factory in Zhengzhou, China, with the first cuts happening in October 2018. As one source with knowledge of Foxconn's plans told Nikkei, the scale of the cuts is not what stands out, but the fact that it's significantly earlier than previous years.

"It's quite different this year to ask assembly line workers to leave before the year-end," the source stated. Foxconn typically renews workers' contracts every month from August until January, at which point the workforce is scaled back for slow ‌iPhone‌ production season. This year, those cuts came as much as three months early.

iphone xs vs xr
The same is true for other Apple suppliers according to today's report, with Pegatron canceling monthly labor contracts last November. One source said that Pegatron's cuts "happened sooner than in the past because of poor demand," referring to the ‌iPhone‌.

Even smaller companies in Apple's supply chain reportedly cut down on their workforce, with one unnamed component supplier based in Shenzhen asking 4,000 workers to take an extended vacation from October to March. On March 1, the company will decide whether or not to lay the workers off.

For Foxconn, the company is preparing for restructuring throughout the company, merging business units that make iPads and MacBooks with the division making Dell and Acer computers. This means "steep cuts" to management, human resources, administrations, accounting, and utility support jobs, totaling 100,000 jobs removed by the end of 2018 and costs cut by $2.96 billion in 2019.

Apple in late December told its suppliers to cut production on new iPhones by 10 percent over the next three months, coming on the back of reports about weak ‌iPhone‌ sales during the holiday quarter. In early January, Apple CEO Tim Cook called reports claiming the ‌iPhone‌ XR was a flop "bologna," stating the device has been the most popular ‌iPhone‌ "every single day" since it launched.

Amid all of this, many Apple suppliers cut their 2019 sales forecasts, including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company and Nidec. Specifically for the China market, these suppliers noted an "extraordinary" drop in demand for high-end smartphones.

Tag: Foxconn

Popular Stories

iOS 26

Everything New in iOS 26.1 Beta 1

Monday September 22, 2025 12:44 pm PDT by
Apple released the first beta of iOS 26.1 today, just a week after launching iOS 26. iOS 26.1 mainly adds new languages to Apple Intelligence, but there are a few other features that are worth knowing about. New Apple Intelligence Languages Apple Intelligence is now available in Danish, Dutch, Norwegian, Portuguese (Portugal), Swedish, Turkish, Chinese (Traditional), and Vietnamese. AirPo...
iOS 26 Battery Glass Feature

iPhone 16 Pro Max 80% Charge Limit: One Year Later, Was It Worth It?

Wednesday September 24, 2025 3:58 pm PDT by
With the iPhone 15 series, I did an experiment and kept my iPhone's Charge Limit set at 80 percent for an entire year. It provided an interesting look at the impact of charge limits on battery longevity, so I decided to repeat it for the iPhone 16 line. Since September 2024, my iPhone 16 Pro Max has been limited to an 80 percent charge, with no cheating. As of today, my battery's maximum...
apple tv 4k new orange

Next Apple TV Expected to Launch This Year With These New Features

Monday September 22, 2025 10:00 am PDT by
The next Apple TV is expected to be released later this year, and a handful of new features and changes have been rumored for the device. Below, we recap what to expect from the next Apple TV, according to rumors. Likely Features N1 Chip With Wi-Fi 7 Last year, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said the next Apple TV would be equipped with Apple's own combined Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chip, which is...
iPhone 17 Pro USB C Port

iPhone 17 Pro Max's USB-C Charging Speeds Tested With Apple Chargers

Monday September 22, 2025 7:29 am PDT by
The website ChargerLAB has tested the iPhone 17 Pro Max's USB-C charging speeds with a variety of Apple's chargers, from 18W to 140W. The device reached a peak charging speed of around 36W with the following Apple chargers:40W Dynamic Power Adapter with 60W Max 61W USB-C Power Adapter 67W USB-C Power Adapter 70W USB-C Power Adapter 96W USB-C Power Adapter 140W USB-C Power AdapterFor...
Apple Intelligence General Feature 2

iOS 26.1 Adds New Apple Intelligence Languages and Expands AirPods Live Translation

Monday September 22, 2025 11:15 am PDT by
With iOS 26.1, Apple Intelligence is gaining support for additional languages, including Danish, Dutch, Norwegian, Portuguese (Portugal), Swedish, Turkish, Chinese (Traditional), and Vietnamese. Apple announced plans to expand the languages that can be used with Apple Intelligence last year, and now the added language support is here. Apple Intelligence is now available in the following...
iPhone 17 Pro and Air N1 Feature

Some iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone Air Users Experiencing Intermittent Wi-Fi Issue

Monday September 22, 2025 8:44 am PDT by
Apple's latest iPhone models launched on Friday, and some early adopters of the devices are experiencing intermittent Wi-Fi issues. Affected customers say Wi-Fi connectivity periodically cuts out on the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max, and iPhone Air, with hundreds of comments about the issue posted across the MacRumors Forums, Reddit, and the Apple Support Community over the...
iPhone 17 Pro Colors

Skipped the iPhone 17 Pro? Here's What is Rumored for iPhone 18 Pro

Tuesday September 23, 2025 8:55 am PDT by
While the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are still a year away, there are already a few rumors about the devices that offer an early look ahead. Below, we have recapped some of the early iPhone 18 Pro rumors so far. This story was published previously, and it has been updated to reflect the latest rumors. Many early rumors prove to be true, but nothing is confirmed yet, and Apple's...
iphone 17 pro dark blue 1

Apple Blames In-Store MagSafe Chargers for iPhone 17 Pro Display Model Scratches

Wednesday September 24, 2025 10:22 am PDT by
The marks on the iPhone 17 Pro models that people have noticed at Apple retail stores are caused by the chargers that Apple uses, Apple confirmed today. Apple told 9to5Mac that worn MagSafe charging stands in stores are causing marks on the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max. Apple says that the marks are not scratches, and are instead material transfer from the stand to the phone. The...
Apple Foldable Thumb

Foldable iPhone Like 'Two Titanium iPhone Airs' Joined at the Hinge

Monday September 22, 2025 2:16 am PDT by
Next year's rumored foldable iPhone will showcase an ultra-thin design resembling "two titanium iPhone Airs side-by-side," according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Writing in the Q&A section of his latest Power On newsletter, Gurman says Apple's first foldable device will be "super thin and a design achievement," combining Apple's thinnest iPhone form factor with cutting-edge folding...
ios 26 digital id passport wallet

Apple Confirms iOS 26 Wallet Passport Feature is Coming in 2025

Tuesday September 23, 2025 1:06 pm PDT by
Digital ID, the iOS 26 feature that lets U.S. passport holders add their passports to the Wallet app, is coming later in 2025, Apple confirmed today. Apple updated the release timing wording of Digital ID on its iOS 26 features page. "Digital ID will be coming later this year with US passports only," it reads. Prior to today, the footnote for the feature said "Digital ID will be available ...

Top Rated Comments

0924487 Avatar
87 months ago
Expected given the price and lack of innovation
Score: 61 Votes (Like | Disagree)
yaxomoxay Avatar
87 months ago
I can provide a solution for this, Apple: CUT the prices.
The only time prices should be this high is when there's a big leap from the previous generation.
Score: 56 Votes (Like | Disagree)
X--X Avatar
87 months ago
Apple cannot lower the prices abruptly. It's a damaging solution when we factor in the impact it will have on the brand, long term. It will set a precedent that Apple can price their devices lower than the premiums they're asking now, leading many to expect those "low prices" going forward, making Apple lose their premium brand status. It will also make it more obvious that they're struggling and that they're overpricing.
COMPLETELY WRONG

Please watch this 2 minute explanation from Steve Jobs

Score: 53 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Mr. Dee Avatar
87 months ago
Noticed how Phil Schiller is silent in all of this? Apple bet wrong big time and their unofficial apologist John Gruber is looking for every excuse in the book.

Jonathan Morris of TLD made a sound recommendation to Apple in an interview I watched on YouTube yesterday. Apple should have taken a good will risk, absorb the cost of the iPhone XR and sell it for $599. If they did that, I don’t think Samsung or any other brand could stand a chance with 5G in 2019.

But the greed machine took ahold because of the iPhone X success going into 2018. Consumers are not blind. I bought the iPhone X knowing I will not be buying another iPhone for a while. The older models are still doing well in addition to the battery upgrade. But I think Apple just allowed cash hoarding top get the best of them and they really need to understand this is a device that will become obsolete over time. It’s not a timepiece.

The iPhone XS should have been pushed down to $799 in its second year because the company has made enough on the first generation to see the ROI for RD. Stop with this its expensive to make theory.
Score: 36 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Jesus on OSX Avatar
87 months ago
Apple would rather bleed marketshare just so they can protect that 38% profit margin. It's a fairly mature market now, there aren't as many revolutionary features in today's phones. Hard to believe that people don't want to shell out $1500 for a phone.
Score: 24 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Ermir444 Avatar
87 months ago
Keep selling them good iPhones at 1k+ Tim. Keep selling that XR 720p screen tech from 2010 at $750+. Keep nickle and dimming your customers on dongles and astronomical storage upgrade prices.

What did you think was going to happen genius???
Score: 23 Votes (Like | Disagree)