Foxconn Hires More iPhone 7, 7 Plus Assemblers, Offers Bonuses As Production Hits Full Speed Ahead Of Launch Event

Because Apple is expecting the demand for its iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus to be significantly higher than predicted, the Cupertino giant’s manufacturing arm, Foxconn Electronics, has reportedly decided to hire more smartphone assemblers and even offer bonuses to employees ahead of the Sept. 7 launch event for the new iPhones.

Foxconn is said to be aggressively pushing for increased production of the new iPhones as the launch event becomes imminent, DigiTimes reported on Monday, citing a Chinese-language report from Economic Daily News.

Part of this aggressive push is handing out bonuses ($209) to active assemblers who can recommend competent workers to join the company’s endeavor of boosting the number of smartphones assembled ahead of their rumored release on Sept. 16.

In addition, workers who have been with the manufacturing company for three months and former assemblers who have returned are also receiving bonuses, as per Cult of Mac.

The news about Foxconn comes just a day after it was reported that Apple boosted its orders for the parts of the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus by 10 percent as the company is said to be expecting an increase in demand and sales once the handsets are unveiled.

Despite the increase in the number of parts it has ordered from suppliers, the demand for the new iPhones is expected to be lower this year than last year’s iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus, as previously reported.

Earlier leaks and rumors have claimed that Apple’s upcoming handsets will be minor upgrades from their predecessors and that they will come with the new A10 chip, improved waterproofing, upgraded LED flash, a new audio amplifier and the 256GB top-tier memory option. In addition, there are reports claiming that the Cupertino giant is debuting the new iPhones with wireless earphones, called AirPods, in the absence of the universal audio jack.

Apple is now expected to launch the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus this Wednesday, Sept. 7, which is just days after the company’s big South Korean rival announced the global recall of its Galaxy Note 7 over a major battery flaw