Foxconn Picks New iPhone Business Chief After Tumultuous Year in China

Taiwan’s Foxconn has appointed Michael Chiang as the new boss for its iPhone assembly business after a tumultuous year in China, Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter. Chiang replaces longtime leader Wang Charng-yang as head of the iPhone assembly division, the Bloomberg report said.

Foxconn declined to comment. Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Foxconn’s plant in China’s Zhengzhou city, the world’s largest manufacturing facility of Apple’s iPhones, was heavily affected late last year after a COVID-19 outbreak and curbs taken to control the virus prompted thousands of workers to leave.

It was also hit by a bout of worker unrest over payment issues, but the plant was almost back to full production with December shipments reaching about 90 percent of initial plans, sources told Reuters earlier in January.

Chiang’s appointment is part of Foxconn Chairman Young Liu’s efforts to elevate younger executives to maintain the company’s supply chain leadership in the face of growing competition from Chinese contenders, the Bloomberg report said.

Earlier this month, the Financial Times newspaper reported that Apple was set to sign up Chinese contract manufacturer Luxshare Precision Industry Company Limited to produce premium iPhone models, to make up for lost production at Foxconn’s Zhengzhou factory last year.

© Thomson Reuters 2023