BEIJING: Days after thousands of fearful workers fled the COVID-19-hit compound of a Taiwanese company in Zhengzhou, capital of central Henan province, Apple supplier Foxconn Technology Group announced a daily attendance bonus for assembly line workers at the largest iPhone factory this month it has increased from the previous 100 Yuan to 400 Yuan (US$55).

According to the company's statement published on its official WeChat account on Tuesday, employees of Foxconn's Integrated Digital Products business group, the division in charge of iPhone assembly, are eligible to receive up to 5,000 yuan in additional incentives depending on the total number of devices. 

In the market days in a month when they appear in the Zhengzhou plant. It claimed that for a full month's attendance, an employee could get an additional salary of more than 15,000 yuan.

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Health officials in Zhengzhou issued a separate call for calm on Monday in response to an online sensation that Foxconn workers were fleeing. 

Officials said in a WeChat post the same day that the current coronavirus strain may spread rapidly, but it is weak, and no serious cases have been reported from the infection.

This stood in contrast to China's general COVID-19 propaganda, which often exaggerated the serious risk of transmission, to support extreme measures such as abrupt community lockdowns.

Actions by Foxconn and the local government of Zhengzhou, where the Taiwanese company employs 300,000 people at its sprawling production complex and is known as one of the city's major taxpayers and exporters, to stabilize manufacturing supplies, Shows an increased sense of urgency. series in this region of the country.

Meanwhile, Zhengzhou serves as a major node in China's national transportation system, thanks to its international airport and rail connections to Europe.

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Foxconn, formerly known as Hon Hai Precision Industry, in November to reduce iPhone production at its Zhengzhou factory by "by 30%" due to recent Covid-19-related disruptions, a Reuters report reported on Monday. according to which it was cited. 

A source having direct knowledge of the situation. According to the report, Foxconn is shifting some of its orders south to its Shenzhen facilities to minimize disruptions.

Foxconn's Zhengzhou factory affects at least 10% of the world's capacity for iPhone production, according to TF International Securities analyst Kuo Ming-chi, who oversees Apple's supply chain.

Following the implementation of stringent epidemic control measures on campus to prevent a small COVID-19 outbreak two weeks ago, employees at Foxconn's Zhengzhou facility took to social media for assistance ahead of their widely reported exodus. Walked for the weekend. turned to the media.

A semi-lockdown was also imposed on Zhengzhou's 10 million residents, with some told to stay at home and others to limit their activity to their neighbourhoods.
An unnamed Foxconn employee claimed they left the Zhengzhou campus on Sunday afternoon after workers were allowed to leave. He claimed that the fear of infection had made up his mind.

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They had to walk the road with their belongings for three hours before they were given a ride in a carpool to their hometown in the southern coastal region of Nanyang. She checked into a hotel for quarantine, where she would stay for seven days.

The number of employees vacating the facility or placed in quarantine has not been made public by Foxconn or the Zhengzhou administration.

According to a report in the local newspaper Henan Daily, an unidentified person, who is reportedly in charge of the Foxconn division for assembling the iPhone 14 series, claimed that the factory was in dire need of workers during the current period of peak production.  And that management has requested assistance from the company's other factories throughout China.

On Monday, Henan health authorities reported 13 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Zhengzhou. Of the 91 asymptomatic cases reported, 82 had come from the city.