Foxconn embarks on Brazilian, Chinese expansion plans [u]
updated 02:20 pm EST, Tue January 31, 2012
Five factories in works for Brazil
(Updated with denial of Brazilian plans) Foxconn is planning to build five extra factories in Brazil, according to São Paulo's Secretary of Planning and Development of the State, Julio Semeghini. Each is expected to be manned by about 1,000 workers, and produce iPads, notebooks, and general electronics. The actual locations of the factories have yet to be decided, although São Paulo is claimed to be campaigning heavily.
Parties from Foxconn and the Brazilian government will reportedly meet after the Chinese New Year holiday to decide the matter. Just last week Foxconn received tax breaks as an incentive to produce tablets in Brazil. The company is already thought be working on both iPads and iPhones in the country.
In Zhengzhou, China, meanwhile, thousands of people are reported to have lined up outside a labor agency yesterday to score a job at local Foxconn facilities. The manufacturer is said to be cooperating with the city to double its workforce in the area, adding about 100,000 people. The influx may be related to a next-generation iPhone, since Zhengzhou is an iPhone production hub, and Foxconn may already be gearing up for the new device.
Update: A Foxconn representative is denying the Brazilian expansion story, calling it "pure speculation." The company is also, however, refusing to say whether it already makes iPhones and iPads in Brazil.
