Report: Foxconn Ramps Up Hiring Ahead of New iPhone

Foxconn has reportedly reversed a hiring freeze it imposed in February as the manufacturer ramps up to produce Apple's new iPhone.

As reported by Bloomberg, Foxconn has been recruiting workers for its Zhengzhou plant for the past month. Citing a person familiar with Foxconn's plans, Bloomberg said Apple requested the hiring boost.

In a statement, Foxconn said it is "recruiting at our facilities in China, however, the recruitment activity varies by campus because it is based on the different cycles of the various products we are manufacturing for each of our customers." A spokesman also told Bloomberg that the Zhengzhou plant currently has about 250,000 to 300,000 employees.

Back in February, there were reports that Foxconn's hiring freeze was related to slowing demand for the iPhone 5. Foxconn, however, said the decision was "due to an unprecedented rate of return of employees following the Chinese New Year holiday compared to years past."

"This action is not related to any single customer and any speculation to the contrary is false and inaccurate," Foxconn said.

Apple has not made any announcements about its next-generation iPhone. For the past two years, Cupertino has unveiled its new smartphone in the fall ahead of the holiday shopping season. A recent analyst report, however, said Apple would unveil its new iPhone 5S and a low-cost iPhone in June, and release it in July.

Since 2007, Apple has stuck to a one-year release cycle. But Cupertino is facing competition from smartphone powerhouse Samsung, which unveiled two major phones last year - the Galaxy S III and Galaxy Note II - and plans to unveil its Galaxy S4 next month here in the U.S. Will Apple try to cut into Samsung's market share a bit earlier this year? Stay tuned.

Editor's Note: This story was updated Tuesday with comment from Foxconn.