Terry Gou: Foxconn will not lay off employees in transition

Since 2010, the unanticipated employee "N Jump" has made the world's largest foundry factory - the Hon Hai Group (the parent company of "Foxconn") take the lead. The controversy has never ceased. Although Foxconn’s militarization management and business philosophy of advocating efficiency have been criticized, some people have expressed emotions about the excellent standards and work efficiency of overtime payment. I am afraid there are few manufacturing companies in the country – the internal system. The contradictions and struggles have driven Foxconn to speed up its search for a transition.

Last week, Foxconn and China’s largest telecom data company Century Connect announced a strategic cooperation. Foxconn chairman Guo Tingming revealed at the press conference that the Hon Hai transition road map that has entered the “doubtful year” has gradually emerged: it will become a MachinetoMachine from an OEM factory. (Machine-to-machine) manufacturing companies and big data companies. The timetable he set for the transformation of Hon Hai is completed in 2020.

□ People observe the turning of the “kingdom of the foundry”

"And the century of Internet interconnection is the beginning of our transformation, a signal (signal)!"

On April 23, Terry Gou, who had a tight schedule, devoted two hours at night to the "platforms" for Foxconn and Century Internet's signing ceremony. “The Wending (marriage) of Century Connect is the beginning of our transformation. A signal!” said Guo Tingming. Both parties have initially planned to set up a new generation of data centers in joint ventures, and to start early cooperation in Tianjin, Shenzhen, Kaohsiung and Guiyang. In March of this year, Foxconn just signed a contract with the Gui'an New Area Management Committee of Guizhou Province to build a Foxconn green tunnel data center and R&D center with a total investment of 220 million yuan.

The enthusiasm of Gou and Foxconn's investment in big data and the cloud, and the worry of the foundry business accompany each other. The latest financial report released by Hon Hai Precision, a major listed company of Hon Hai, showed that Hon Hai’s annual revenue for the year was 3.95 trillion NT (approximately US$130.33 billion) in 2013, an increase of 1.3% year-on-year—less than 15% at the beginning of the year. 1/10 of the target. Overly reliance on the OEM business of certain brands, and the sharp contrast between the OEM factories and brand owners' Maori, also buried time bombs for Hon Hai.

Terry Gou hopes that the revenue for the next ten years will more than double to NT$10 trillion (US$330 billion) and diversify its business. From the construction of a new generation of data centers, one can also glimpse the ambitions of Terry Gou’s change.

“When we design a mold, we can simultaneously look at a blueprint discussion with customers, suppliers, and design and manufacturing companies on the Internet and in the cloud. Setting a proper tolerance, it used to take a week, and now it can be 15 minutes. "Of course," said Guo Tingming, "We have established a platform with the Internet in the future, and this platform will be opened in the future. Hon Hai has accumulated millions of molds and manufacturing processes, and put parallel projects on the cloud. Everyone can see the blueprint. The combination of technology and our experience can provide data services to third-party manufacturing companies, logistics companies, and service companies."

The "virtual and real combination" map

“Many of our factories have already turned off the light production, do not need personnel, rely entirely on robots and robots.”

At the press conference, Terry Gou was interested in showing two PPTs depicting the future of Foxconn. However, while playing fiddle for 15 minutes, the projectors were not projected. "In a year or two, the mobile phone can control the projector and the content is placed in the cloud. The one-click operation can be adjusted. The current situation is that the cloud, network and end have not been combined."

Terry Gou said that with the instant messaging tools Wechat, WhatsApp, and LINE are limited to entertainment and social family life, the value of GDP creation is limited. In the future, however, with the combination of various application devices in the cloud, in addition to social family, entertainment, and work, education, security, health, property transactions, environmental protection and transportation and other areas of life. "The Internet Big Data will manage hundreds of thousands of machines and use Machine to Machine through the cloud. In the future, what you receive on WhatsApp, Wechat is not where to eat, but which machine may be the next screw. There is a danger of loosening after three days."

In Taiwan, "Hon Hai Enterprise Patent Cloud Computing Center" retains QuanHai's patent data, and the "Patent Cloud" is scattered throughout its global production base. After cooperating with Century Internet, the two parties will achieve patent sharing.

Terry Gou predicted that after 20 years, many monotonous and repetitive tasks will be replaced by machinery. "For example, if you go to the supermarket to buy a bottle of water, Foxconn Machinery will help you to move back home soon." He revealed that Hon Hai is even working with Tsinghua University to study how to receive a bowl of instant noodles through the Internet, just like receiving a book or a movie on the Internet. “We are studying with Tsinghua University and we have passed the genetic engineering of instant noodles. After the nanometerization, it becomes a granule, which is then quickly sent to you through the network. It is not impossible after 20 years."

However, it is more reliable than the direct reception of instant noodles by the Internet. Foxconn’s research on multi-functional robots and the blessing technology that Hon Hai’s plans to invest in involves the production line automation business, also known as the “robot” project. “Many of our factories have already turned off the light production, do not need personnel, rely entirely on robots and robots.”

The Online Reengineering of "Post-90 Employees"

"The education of the Internet depends on the transmission of the cloud, which makes people learn all the time. Now Foxconn's factory area has changed from a factory to an online university."

For Hon Hai, the "employment empire" grew up by absorbing the nutrients from the mainland's low-cost labor and land resources. With business expansion and revenue growth year by year, Terry Gou is already the owner of 1.5 million people. However, what makes Mr. Gou unforgettable is that his empire always reminds employees of negative images such as continuous suicide, sweatshops, strikes, fighting, and part-time work.

“80% to 90% of employees like to work overtime, earn more money in the future to return home to buy a house.” Terry Gou said at the shareholders’ meeting to show that Foxconn’s internal management issues were not as serious as media reports. However, the problems of the grass-roots staff also made him think about it. For the post-90s, education may be more important than money. He disclosed that Foxconn has reached a strategic cooperation with Net Dragon a few days ago, so that every employee can accept the education of the cloud network.

"The education of the Internet depends on the transmission of the cloud, which makes people learn all the time. Now Foxconn's factory area has changed from a factory to an online university."

Terry Gou said with emotion that after the 90s, young people do not want to work on repetitive machinery. They can see all sorts of information on their mobile Internet. Their ability to accept information is first class, but the ability to judge information is very poor. “Study is a lifelong thing. Learning is more important than learning. Learning is the execution power. It's the improvement of ability. Knowing not to do it will always stay at the stage of knowing. 'Learning' can tell you how to make judgments with experience, so young people To improve judgment in the process of learning.”

â–¡ Character Dialogue >> Talking about layoffs One million employees are the bottom line

Q: Will Foxconn lay off large numbers of employees because of the increased use of robots?

A: Will there be massive layoffs? will not. I cannot be vague on this issue. Foxconn entered the mainland in 1988, and our products accounted for 4% of China's total exports. Regardless of the off-season peak season, in addition to the annual elimination of about 3% of employees, there is not a large number of layoffs.

Will the number of workers be reduced due to the intelligent use of machinery? I think that one million is our lowest value, but we now pay more attention to qualitative improvement than quantity expansion, so we must educate our employees. We still have a lot of room for improvement. In the future, the human lifestyle will have tremendous changes. These will depend on knowledgeable and talented people.

>>Talk about Apple's income from Apple is not over 1/3

Question: Does Foxconn's income depend on Apple? Is there a bigger risk?

A: We now rely on the principle that the Hon Hai Group relies on any major customer. Its revenue is no more than 1/3. Our entire group had revenues of more than 150 billion U.S. dollars last year and many subsidiaries. Everyone thought that we were only a foundry company. Recently, a group of angel investors came to Taipei. After they saw our research center, they were very determined to cooperate with us. In fact, in terms of software, content, etc., we have a lot of ideas and internal and external entrepreneurial projects. The company advocates "three creations" culture: creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurship. Our company this year is definitely not only a hardware, hardware is not only a mobile phone tablet, all future structures will change.

>> Talk about transformation plan to achieve transformation in 2020

Q: What stage of Hon Hai's transformation?

A: The vernacular phase of the Century Internet (laughs). Hon Hai will have to make a transition in 2020. The text of the Century Internet is the beginning of our transformation, signal.

We have established a platform with Century Internet, and we will open this platform in the future. Hon Hai has accumulated millions of sets of molds and manufacturing processes. We can use these big data experience to tell everyone what materials the camera lens should use, how plastic frame, metal frame antenna tolerances are set, and how the antenna is designed. We have cooperated with customers all over the world, from cell phones to automobiles, and we will leave every data in the future. We will put concurrent engineering and related processes on the cloud. Everyone can see the blueprint. Century Connect's technology and our experience provide third-party manufacturing companies, logistics companies, and service companies with business services and ubiquitous data services.