Apple Suppliers Struggling to Hire Enough Workers Ahead of iPhone 13 Launch

[yaxomoxay]

Paltry bonuses. Meanwhile...

Apple CEO Tim Cook Now the Eighth Highest-Paid Executive in the U.S.

Apple CEO Tim Cook has fallen to eighth place on a list of the highest-paid CEOs and executives in the United States last year despite earning more than the previous year, according to Bloomberg. Cook was paid $265 million in 2020, mainly comprising stock awards and a bonus as in previous...

forums.macrumors.com

So?
Go become the CEO of a Fortune 500 multi-billion dollar company (and I am setting the bar very low), let's see if you can do it.
Finding a job in Foxconn's supply chain? As long as you can move your limbs you will get the job.

 

[The Barron]

It’d be wise to spread the supply chain to other countries. It’s not smart to be so dependent on one country.

Agree - I'd love to see India ramp up more along with Ireland, so Apple is not so tied to China.

 

[Anthony Sullivan]

Say goodbye to 999$ base price for iPhone Pro

HAHAHA. It already starts at €1,179 in Ireland ($1,386 USD).

 

[macar00n]

I wonder when a worker hires on and Foxcon pays the bonus if a boss comes up to the worker and says, by the way, that is really your pay for the whole year

Hahaha this is a really good one, how did you come up with that?

 

[dampfnudel]

It’d be wise to spread the supply chain to other countries. It’s not smart to be so dependent on one country.

Common sense that Apple should take to heart before circumstances someday force them to take it to heart with the unnecessary financial pain that will come with it.

 

[CubeHacker]

I think you underestimate China. They can't find staff because the job market is currently working in the employee's interests; standards of living and salaries are booming (similar labour shortage in US and EU btw). This $1,578 starting bonus is for a low-skilled factory job.

This is largely *because of* what you might think of as Apple's 'exploitation' of China, not in-spite of it.

It’s interesting that you call this a low skill factory job. And yet Tim Cook’s main reason for not being able to bring over manufacturing from China to the US is because of the high skill required. I think they aren’t trying hard enough.

There's a confusion about China. The popular conception is that companies come to China because of low labor cost. I'm not sure what part of China they go to, but the truth is China stopped being the low-labor-cost country many years ago. And that is not the reason to come to China from a supply point of view. The reason is because of the skill, and the quantity of skill in one location and the type of skill it is.

 

[andrewxgx]

HAHAHA. It already starts at €1,179 in Ireland ($1,386 USD).

large part of that is your gov't greed which is officialy called VAT

 

[justperry]

HAHAHA. It already starts at €1,179 in Ireland ($1,386 USD).

There are (Lots of) other reasons for the higher prices.

 

[justperry]

Large part of that is your gov't greed which is officially called VAT

Bullocks, not even going to explain why.

 

[hatchettjack]

better start warming up your pre order fingers! looks like a shortage coming!

 

[hatchettjack]

Bullocks, not even going to explain why.

and you thought you're healthcare and college were free😂😂😂😂

 

[masterhiggins]

They just need to prevent their current workers from jumping.

 

[bsmith4832]

While I’m not saying the working conditions there are ideal (they’re definitely not, but I think that’s another conversation), the bonus seems reasonable for low skill level factory work in these countries to me. A friend of mine (in the US) recently got a sign on bonus of $2000 to work a low skill level factory job. Take into account an average 2 bedroom apartment in our area rents for $1200-$1500 per month. I’d say that, in comparison, these bonuses are reasonable compared to their cost of living. Hell there are factories around here offering a $1000 sign on bonus after 6 months, which I feel is completely unreasonable compared to their net growth and average cost of living.

Again, I’m not comparing their hours and work quality. That’s a different story that nowhere compares to the US.

 

[sakurarain]

They might have to give a free iPhone (SE) to every employee as their bonus! 😉

you mean the 1st. gen SE, right?

 

[Macaholic868]

What are the minor upgrades you have heard about?

Slightly better camera, thinner, lighter, faster, you know, the usual routine. The iPhone 12 was nice for the upgrade to 5G. The 13? It’ll be nice for users who didn’t already get the 12. That’s about it.

 

[Frixos]

Slightly better camera, thinner, lighter, faster, you know, the usual routine. The iPhone 12 was nice for the upgrade to 5G. The 13? It’ll be nice for users who didn’t already get the 12. That’s about it.

The 13 I think will really be the better update than the 12 was. Yes the 12 got 5G, but it drains battery like crazy. So a better and faster 5G chip with WiFi 6e support, better battery life, and 120hz monitor (at least for pro models) makes the IPhone 13 the better upgrade option than the 12 was in my opinion. But yeah, if you have the 12 there’s not really a need to upgrade. Rarely is worth upgrading one generation in my opinion

 

[Lancer]

What, too many children affected by Covid?

 

[Lancer]

Slightly better camera, thinner, lighter, faster, you know, the usual routine. The iPhone 12 was nice for the upgrade to 5G. The 13? It’ll be nice for users who didn’t already get the 12. That’s about it.

I'm on a 3 year deal with my 11 so I'll check in next year for the 14.

 

[szw-mapple fan]

It’s interesting that you call this a low skill factory job. And yet Tim Cook’s main reason for not being able to bring over manufacturing from China to the US is because of the high skill required. I think they aren’t trying hard enough.

It's all relative. If you are talking about all manufacturing including more complex and automated manufacturing, then yes, it's a low skill job. But if you look at manufacturing with massive amounts of workers doing manual assembly then it's a relatively high skill job within that bracket. While's it's not impossible to find that number of workers elsewhere and train them to perform similarly over some years in a developed country, it would difficult and expensive. If you consider the fact that most of these workers are also seasonal and are employed elsewhere during other times of the year, you'd also have to worry about building an manufacturing ecosystem to support these workers that is outside of just making Apple devices.

 

[turbineseaplane]

Tim: Cost of labor is up....and we have to maintain margins...iPhone prices going up!

 

[szw-mapple fan]

And so it starts, the decline of China, getting too expensive for manufacturing. 🤔

Getting too expensive for low-end manufacturing isn't necessarily a bad thing for it, especially considering China's declining population of younger people. It's getting expensive likely because Chinese manufacturing is generating more jobs upmarket toward more mid-end manufacturing which raises the average wage.

 

[szw-mapple fan]

Tim: Cost of labor is up....and we have to maintain margins...iPhone prices going up!

Given the uptick in inflation in the U.S. and a more valuable Yuan, a more expensive iPhone is probably inevitable in the next few years.