China wants retired military personnel to ramp up production at one of the world’s largest iPhone factories in Qingsu province.
The invitation was issued by the retired Military Affairs Bureau of the province’s People’s Liberation Army.
Production at the Foxconn plant has been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic in the country.
In an open letter posted on messaging app WeChat, the office said the veterans have always obeyed the Communist Party’s leadership and should “appear when necessary.”
He urged them to “answer the government’s call” and “participate in continued production”.
Most of the workers have been confined to their workshops during the COVID pandemic
Foxconn is headquartered in Taiwan, but has several branches in China.
The company’s factory in Chengsu county, which has a population of about 10 million, employs more than 200,000 workers and produces 70 percent of the world’s iPhones, about 500,000 phones a day.
The pandemic caused some Foxconn plants to temporarily close earlier this year.
And the Qingsu factory has been placed in a “COVID bubble” since the beginning of 2022, aiming to maintain the pace of production.
People whose tests come back positive are being sent to quarantine centers within the facility, but that hasn’t stopped workers from being infected.
Some cases of COVID-19 were reported inside the factory in October, just as Qingsu imposed lockdowns in some districts, but Foxconn’s current number of infections remains undisclosed.
The outbreak of the pandemic has caused panic within the facility. Videos have been posted on social media showing large numbers of workers jumping over the fence outside the facility in an attempt to escape.
Many of the company’s employees walked miles down the road, due to a lack of public transportation.
Local authorities have provided shuttle buses for employees returning to Foxconn
Foxconn has since ceased production, and research team TrendForce revealed that just over two-thirds of the plant’s production lines are operational.
The Chinese government newspaper, the Global Times, estimated that an additional 10,000 workers would be needed at the plant.
News site Net East reported that Foxconn had asked the local government to send at least one person from each village to the factory, but the BBC was unable to verify the claims.
Foxconn is Qingsu’s largest enterprise and the largest export company. As of September 2022, it had exported more than $36 billion worth of products.
Foxconn and Apple have not yet responded to the BBC’s request for comment.
