People are seen outside a closed Apple store in Toronto, Canada, on March 14, 2020. Apple will close all its stores worldwide except those in China until March 27 in response to the spread of COVID-19, said Apple CEO Tim Cook. (Photo by Zou Zheng/Xinhua)

Two weeks before Apple is scheduled to release its second-quarter financial results, its top supplier Foxconn has stopped recruiting new workers as export orders are shrinking amid the global pandemic.

Apple has announced that a conference call to discuss the results will be held on April 30. 

It will be a very important earnings release for the company as it comes amid the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak, and the figures are unlikely to be impressive as global demand is declining, Liang Zhenpeng, a veteran industry analyst, told the Global Times on Sunday. Similar comments have come from staff at Foxconn's factories in China.

A Foxconn recruitment manager surnamed Zeng in Shenzhen, South China's Guangdong Province, said on Sunday that hiring has fallen from over 1,000 workers per day in March to just about 50 now.

The factory in Shenzhen is also laying off workers, mostly from non-essential sectors such as the logistics department, he said. 

"At this time of year, the factory should have more staff and more hours for each worker. But hiring is ultimately based on the progress of the new iPhone, which was due to be released in June or July, although it's now postponed to September," Zeng said, adding that other factories in China face a similar predicament.

The factory is now only hiring hourly workers, who work flexible hours at lower rates, Zeng said.

An HR employee at Foxconn's plant in Zhengzhou, Central China's Henan Province, said on Sunday that new hiring has stopped through August. "We have no orders and our factory is fully staffed," he said.

Sales of Taiwan's Hon Hai Precision Industry, known by its trade name of Foxconn, were down 7.7 percent year-on-year in March, media reports said, citing a company filing.

Due to economic pressures and shareholder obligations, Apple is considering releasing the iPhone 9 in April, Front Page Tech analyst Jon Prosser tweeted on March 26.

However, the company appeared to have delayed the release of the cheaper version of the iPhone that many thought would have been released in March, analysts said.

Although factories have enough workers and the supply chain has largely recovered in China, the pandemic in the US and many other markets where Apple's retail businesses are located have affected Apple's global shipments and sales, Liang said.

"For 2020, Apple's sales and shipments are likely to drop by 20 percent," Liang said.

The growing competitiveness of smartphone markets, the lack of a 5G iPhone and Apple's high prices are also to blame for its sales decline, Liang said.

"Many domestic mobile phone brands have not only launched 5G models, but they are cheaper. You can get one for just about 3,000 yuan ($426)," Liang said, adding that he doubts whether Apple's new models will be launched on time.

Some of its plants in the Chinese mainland are still recruiting new workers, and there have been no large-scale layoffs in the group, according to Foxconn.

An Apple spokesperson on Sunday declined to comment.