Workers at a production workshop of Foxconn's technology park in Zhengzhou, Central China's Henan Province. The park is a major global smartphone manufacturing base. Photo: VCG

Apple's contract manufacturers Foxconn and Pegatron Corp are hiring more people to meet a reported order increase for the iPhone 13 series, even as other players in the domestic mobile phone industry are cutting shipments, sources told the Global Times.

Two sources close to Foxconn's recruitment sector told the Global Times on Thursday that they are offering record-high wages for temporary workers to make the iPhone 13 and other products including the iPad, with hundreds of new candidates interviewed each day.

A recruitment manager based in Zhengzhou, Central China's Henan Province, told the Global Times on Thursday on condition of anonymity that successful candidates at Foxconn's plant in Zhengzhou, the world's largest iPhone production base, are getting 31 yuan ($4.59) per hour, which is definitely a high wage for hourly workers on the production line. The pay was 26 yuan in early April.

Those who work for 90 days in a row may also receive a 5,500-yuan one-time retention bonus. 

Another recruitment manager said that the plant of Pegatron Corp in Kunshan, East China's Jiangsu Province is offering 34 yuan per hour for workers to make Apple's iPhones, tablets and watches.

Media reports have said that Apple's iPhone sales are relatively stable, and it may even increase production of iPhone 13 Pros in the second quarter this year.

Meanwhile, Xiaomi, OPPO and Vivo, China's three major mobile phone brands, have reportedly notified suppliers that the expected orders in the second quarter will be reduced by up to 20 percent compared with the previous production plan, Nikkei Asia reported on Wednesday, citing unidentified sources.

The order cuts reflect the epidemic situation as well as the consideration of supply chain snags and weakened market demand, according to the report.

Apple suppliers' stepped-up plans may mean that they have misjudged the market, resulting in insufficient shipments, and are making up for it, Ma Jihua, an industry analyst, told the Global Times on Thursday.

Foxconn is reportedly facing a labor shortage, and there were rumors that some recruiters were going to highway exits to look for new workers and offering higher bonuses.

Ma said that the hiring drive won't last long. Demand is weak, and consumers are changing models less often.