Hon Hai offers ‘grants’ for new hires
Hon Hai (2317.TT), Apple’s (APPL) primary iPhone assembler is said to be offering ‘grants’ to employees with more than 3 months of working employment as part of a recruitment program adding significant worker capacity to its assembly plants. The ‘grant’ bucket is expected to be ~$870,000 US, and the total living allowance for qualifies employees is expected to be $87.09, implying 10,000 new or qualified employees. The implication by the Chinese press is that Hon Hai is anticipating the release of an Apple iPhone later this year, and is ramping staff to meet Apple’s goals. In recent weeks there has been speculation that Apple might postpone the next iPhone release until 2018 as certain parts seem to be in short supply.
While the increased hiring by Hon Hai is a data point, it is just that, and while we still expect Apple to release a 10th anniversary iPhone this year, there are still a few hurdles that need to be reached. That said, we believe Apple will tailor the upcoming iPhone and its variants to whatever limitations are placed on it by the smartphone supply chain, and while considerable speculation as to features continues, Apple has said little to indicate that they are concerned about supply constraints.
We would expect Apple to have to make final decisions about the iPhone by early summer, and at that time we expect more detail from suppliers as to the feature set, with an endless set of ‘leaks’ to ripen the speculation. Hon Hai is a significant supply chain participant for Apple, and the hiring could be a sign, but the details are far more important to the supply chain than the release date, which can always be moved.
While the increased hiring by Hon Hai is a data point, it is just that, and while we still expect Apple to release a 10th anniversary iPhone this year, there are still a few hurdles that need to be reached. That said, we believe Apple will tailor the upcoming iPhone and its variants to whatever limitations are placed on it by the smartphone supply chain, and while considerable speculation as to features continues, Apple has said little to indicate that they are concerned about supply constraints.
We would expect Apple to have to make final decisions about the iPhone by early summer, and at that time we expect more detail from suppliers as to the feature set, with an endless set of ‘leaks’ to ripen the speculation. Hon Hai is a significant supply chain participant for Apple, and the hiring could be a sign, but the details are far more important to the supply chain than the release date, which can always be moved.
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