Foxconn is planning to hire at least 100,000 workers at its manufacturing bases in Shenzhen, Henan and Hebei Provinces to produce the latest version of Apple’s iPhone. The iPhone 6 is expected to launch in the third quarter of this year, reported Tencent News.

Jiao Jinmiao, head of the Henan Commerce Department, confirmed that Foxconn, the largest contract manufacturer of Apple products in the world, plans to hire another 100,000 workers in that particular province alone after the new iPhone 6 production equipment is put in place.

Workers in Foxconn’s Shenzhen manufacturing plant lines up for hiring.

Foxconn’s manufacturing factory in Zhengzhou, Henan has been hiring every day since June 26. In addition to the massive recruitment in Henan, its manufacturing plants in Langfang, Hebei Province, Yantai, Shandong Province, and Shenzhen have all started hiring new personnel.

The new iPhone 6 is rumored to have two versions, namely a 4.7-inch version and a 5.5-inch version, with at least one model having a sapphire screen. According to a report by the Wall Street Journal, Apple has ordered its manufacturing suppliers to produce 60 million to 70 million iPhone 6 units, the highest production volume of any iPhone model in the company’s history.

Foxconn has been producing iPhone 6 since March this year.

Due to the large orders of the new iPhones, workers in Foxconn’s Shenzhen manufacturing plant are requested to work day and night, according to one person who claimed to be in charge of hiring in Shenzhen when interviewed by Tencent.

Foxconn also rolled out several financial incentives to stimulate work production. Workers who chose to work overtime can get up to twice their salary. Any worker who brought in a new recruit who stays with the company for three months can also get a RMB 300 reward, according to the report.

Foxconn has previously experienced problems with its workforce. In 2012, the company was embroiled in a scandal when many of its workers committed suicide, leading to the installment of nets to catch them and the signing of a “no suicide” pact.

Related:

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• Another suicide at Foxconn? Employee jumps off 9th floor after slitting wrists
• More Foxconn workers, frustrated by the company’s cost cutting, jump from buildings
• Nanfang TV: A peek inside the Foxconn fortress
• Holiday reading: why the iPhone is built in Shenzhen

Photos: T3/Screenshot; Tencent