Two of Apple’s supply partners are reportedly adding able bodies to their staff in anticipation of an increase in demand for their products and services. TSMC and Foxconn are reported to be in the process of adding 5,000 new jobs each.
TSMC, which manufactures Apple’s custom A-series chips, and Hon Hai Precision, parent company of Foxconn and longtime Apple manufacturing partner, will add 5,000 new jobs each, Reuters reported on Monday, citing the Taiwanese Economic Daily. The two companies have apparently begun posting recruitment notices at events designed for graduating Taiwanese university students.
The Foxconn hiring surge is the largest of its kind in recent years. It will reportedly be hiring largely research and development personnel. The new hires will be involved in automated production, e-commerce, and robots. Meanwhile, TSMC is reported to be recruiting mainly for equipment managers.
The hiring spree could indicate that Apple and it’s partners are gearing up for a new wave of Apple product introductions. Apple CEO Tim Cook was quoted earlier this year as saying Apple’s product line was “chock full of incredible stuff,” although he declined to give any details.
Monday’s news comes as reports from analysts say “channel checks” show that Apple’s suppliers had a rough February. CNN reported Topeka Capital analyst Brian White as saying his “Apple Monitor” showed a 31% decline in sales for Apple’s suppliers. Foxconn saw a 25% month-over-month drop in February sales.
