The world's biggest iPhone factory is reportedly offering $1,000 bonuses to entice workers after being shut down over coronavirus

Reuters

Foxconn employees wearing masks attend the company's year-end gala in Taipei.

• After closing its factories amid the coronavirus outbreak, iPhone maker Foxconn is starting to gradually re-open its facilities.
• In an effort to attract new workers Foxconn is offering bonuses of 7,000 yuan ($995) following the shutdown, the South China Morning Post reports.
• Returning Foxconn workers have also been offered bonuses of 3,000 yuan ($427) to return to work, Abacus reported last week.
• Foxconn said in a statement that it's still taking the utmost care to protect its workers against the virus outbreak.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

The world's biggest iPhone maker is offering workers bonuses of more than twice their monthly salary to entice them to come work in the company's gradually re-opening factories.

iPhone manufacturer Foxconn and was forced to shut down its China factories amid the coronavirus outbreak. At one point the company even diverted manufacturing to start producing face masks and medical clothing.

On Thursday, however, Foxconn announced its factories are slowly resuming work, and the company is trying some bold ploys to try and beef up its workforce once more.

New hires at Foxconn's massive Zhengzhou factory are being offered 7,000 yuan ($995) to return to work, according to local reports per the South China Morning Post.

One local news report said that the bonus is staggered, with workers receiving 3,000 yuan after working 60 days and 4,000 after 90 days. The SCMP notes this represents a huge incentive for factory workers at the Zhengzhou site, as interviews with workers last year found that the average monthly salary was between 2,000 and 3,000 yuan.

Thomson Reuters

Residents cover their face from dust as they ride their bicycles along a street on a hazy day in Zhengzhou.

Employing up to 350,000 people, Zhengzhou is Foxconn's the world's biggest iPhone-making facility and is known colloquially as "iPhone City."

Abacus reported last week that current Foxconn workers were also being offered bonuses of 3,000 yuan ($427) to return to work.

In a statement to the SCMP, Foxconn insisted it is still taking necessary precautions against the virus outbreak. "With the current public health challenges linked to the coronavirus, we continue to place a high priority on the welfare of all our employees and we are applying all recommended health and hygiene practices, in accordance with the local laws and regulations, as part of our effort to ensure their health and safety."

It added that it was taking a "cautious approach" to production schedules at its China facilities. Foxconn was not immediately available for comment when contacted by Business Insider.

NOW WATCH: Watch Samsung unveil its foldable flip phone - the Galaxy Z