Apple supplier Foxconn offering bonuses to lure back workers who fled over COVID lockdowns
China's 'zero-COVID' policy slowing iPhone production
New iPhone released, Apple CEO Tim Cook greets buyers in New York City
FOX Business' Susan Li talks to Apple fans waiting to purchase the iPhone 14 in New York City and reports on how supply chain issues have affected release dates.
Apple supplier Foxconn is hoping to lure workers back to its biggest manufacturing plant in Zhengzhou, China, by offering one-time 500 Yuan ($69.28) bonuses to return after several fled in recent weeks due to COVID-19 lockdowns on the campus.
A staff member wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) disinfects a factory at Industrial Park of Foxconn on November 6, 2022 in Zhengzhou, Henan Province of China. (Photo by VCG/VCG via Getty Images / Getty Images)
Most of the 200,000 workers at Foxconn's Zhengzhou facility, which assembles a majority of iPhones globally, are migrants who share small dormitories with coworkers.
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But starting in mid-October, employees starting walking out after reports of coronavirus outbreaks sparked panic through the city of nearly 13 million people and at the factory itself.
An employee collects daily necessities and anti-epidemic supplies from a service point of Foxconn on November 3, 2022 in Zhengzhou, Henan Province of China. (Photo by VCG/VCG via Getty Images / Getty Images)
APPLE CUTS PRODUCTION OF IPHONE 14 PLUS - THE INFORMATION
Footage purportedly showing Foxconn employees hitting the road by the thousands began flooding Chinese social media, indicating workers' fears of being locked up for an unknown duration, food and water shortages, and lack of health care as China continues to pursue its zero-COVID-19 policies.
Apple said in a statement that COVID-19 restrictions in China are slowing production of the new iPhone 14 Pro. (Photo by Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images / Getty Images)
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Apple acknowledged over the weekend that COVID-19 restrictions were hampering production of the new iPhone 14 Pro at Foxconn's Zhengzhou facility, saying in a statement that the plant "is currently operating at significantly reduced capacity."
FOX Business' Paul Best and Reuters contributed to this report.