Foxconn sees a surge in job seekers with upcoming iPhone 5 launch

The next iPhone is expected to be announced over the next couple of months. With Foxconn being the factory that manufacturers iOS devices, it appears that thousands of candidates are trying to procure a job to build the next generation iPhone or the mysterious iPad mini, a report by MIC Gadget states.

Foxconn to mass hire

A report states that despite torrential rains in Chengdu over the past few days, the Foxconn plant located there has been visited by many candidates hoping to get a job. The website has snapped a range of pictures of the Chinese jobseekers who came prepared wearing rainwear and carrying umbrellas to battle the weather.

Though there may be countless of reports talking about the hazardous working conditions at Foxconn, the number of candidates seeking employment here is not small. The report states that the Foxconn plant in Chengdu has started hiring for summer jobs and is currently in the process of hiring a large number of workers.

Those looking to get the job would need to pay a registration fee of 150 Chinese yuan (roughly $24). This payment has to be made before applying for the summer job. The basic eligibility criterion for a candidate is that he or she have good eyesight.

The rain does not deter the jobseekers

The Foxconn plant at Zhengzhou is also in the process of hiring several workers in what is believed to be recruitment for the production of the next iPhone. The report states, “According to our sources, one of the iPhone assembly lines inside the factory has recently assembled only five units of “the new iPhone” on a night shift. And that particular assembly line actually consists of more than a hundred workers. We were told that it was in the “trial production stage”. This news matches up with the various reports circulating on the Internet about Apple preparing to launch the iPhone 5 by the fall of 2012. A recent report indicated that Apple would unveil the next generation iPhone by August 7. However, there is no word on the authenticity of this report, and more will be known closer to the launch date, when Apple starts sending out invites for the event.

Another bit of information from the report by MIC Gadget is that these Foxconn plants were also ramping up production for the iPad mini. So far, there has been no concrete information about this tablet, apart from the fact that it will be launched in a size smaller than the current iPad. It is believed that the iPad mini will come with a display measuring around 7 inches. It is expected that it will go head to head with the Google Nexus 7 and the Amazon Kindle Fire. As the rumours are piling up, we can expect to see it before the year ends.