March 3, 2014 6:07 a.m. ET
TAIPEI— Apple Inc. AAPL -0.27% Apple Inc. U.S.: Nasdaq $526.24 -1.43 -0.27% Feb. 28, 2014 4:00 pm Volume (Delayed 15m) : 12.74M AFTER HOURS $525.90 -0.34 -0.06% Feb. 28, 2014 7:59 pm Volume (Delayed 15m): 559,544 P/E Ratio 12.97 Market Cap $469.40 Billion Dividend Yield 2.32% Rev. per Employee $2,163,820 03/03/14 Apple on Hiring Binge in Asia ... 03/03/14 Apple to Bring iPhone Software... 03/01/14 Apple Book Excerpt: The Job Af... More quote details and news » is hiring hundreds of new engineers and supply-chain managers in China and Taiwan as it attempts to speed up product development and launch a wider range of devices.
People familiar with the matter said the Cupertino, Calif., company is hiring engineers from rival smartphone maker HTC Corp. 2498.TW +0.37% HTC Corp. Taiwan NT$136.50 +0.50 +0.37% March 3, 2014 2:36 pm Volume : 8.08M P/E Ratio N/A Market Cap NT$114.56 Billion Dividend Yield 1.47% Rev. per Employee NT$11,573,400 02/28/14 German Court Rejects Patent- I... 02/24/14 Samsung Unveils Latest Galaxy ... 02/19/14 HTC Offers Free Replacement fo... More quote details and news » and other Taiwanese tech firms to build up teams in Shanghai and Taipei.
The hiring push reflects Apple's need for more engineers to work with Asian suppliers on developing components for coming iPhones and iPads as it plans for faster and more frequent product launches. Apple is also ramping up its number of supply-chain managers in the wake of criticism over factory conditions at some of its suppliers.
Apple has added several hundred new engineers and operations staff in China over the past two years, with a blitz of hiring that began in mid-2013, people familiar with the matter said. The total number of engineers and operations staff in China now exceeds 600, they said.
Apple declined to give figures on its China staff.
Last August, Apple used the professional networking website LinkedIn to reach out individually to engineers at HTC and its Taiwanese suppliers Inventec Corp. 2356.TW -1.88% Inventec Corp. Taiwan NT$31.35 -0.60 -1.88% March 3, 2014 2:36 pm Volume : 15.96M P/E Ratio 19.00 Market Cap NT$114.62 Billion Dividend Yield 2.55% Rev. per Employee NT$8,630,290 More quote details and news » and Quanta Computer Inc., 2382.TW -0.67% Quanta Computer Inc. Taiwan NT$74.00 -0.50 -0.67% March 3, 2014 2:36 pm Volume : 14.27M P/E Ratio 15.26 Market Cap NT$287.22 Billion Dividend Yield 5.41% Rev. per Employee NT$7,216,290 More quote details and news » among others.
"Apple is building an engineering team in Taipei to drive new iPhone product development," Apple said in one recruiting email obtained by The Wall Street Journal.
Apple also has been hiring for its main Asian base in Shanghai, where it moved into a new three-building complex last year, people familiar with the matter said.
The company is juggling more projects than ever against the industry's shortening product cycle. Low-cost rival Android devices are eroding Apple's smartphone market share, and the company is trying to fight back with more devices. Apple's global smartphone market share fell to 17.9% in the fourth quarter from 20.9% a year earlier, according to market-research firm IDC.
Last year's launch of the iPhone 5S and 5C marked the first time Apple launched two smartphone models at once. The company has been working with component suppliers in Asia to make two larger-screen iPhones this year, people familiar with the situation told The Wall Street Journal in January.
The hiring push also comes as Apple is trying to take a bigger bite out of Greater China, its fastest-growing market in the most recent quarter, and one where the company has high hopes after leading mobile operator China Mobile Ltd. 0941.HK -0.14% China Mobile Ltd. Hong Kong $73.65 -0.10 -0.14% March 3, 2014 4:01 pm Volume : 19.69M P/E Ratio 9.26 Market Cap $1483.29 Billion Dividend Yield 4.65% Rev. per Employee $4,065,060 02/06/14 Vodafone Third-Quarter Revenue... 01/20/14 Samsung to Face More Headwinds 01/17/14 China Mobile iPhone Packages N... More quote details and news » began selling iPhones in January. Apple said sales in Greater China, which includes Hong Kong and Taiwan, rose 29% in its first fiscal quarter ended Dec. 28 to $8.84 billion.
Core research and development will remain in Cupertino, the people familiar with the matter said. But new positions in Greater China span a wide range, from working with suppliers on hardware development for touchscreens and cameras, to electrical engineering and software quality assurance, according to Apple job postings.
The company has been growing globally. It had 80,300 full-time employees as of its annual report last September, up from 72,800 a year earlier.
Apple is moving to strengthen its manufacturing base in China even as the company moves a few production lines back to the U.S. Facing political pressure from lawmakers and activist groups over its extensive contract manufacturing footprint in Asia, Apple said in December it started manufacturing some Mac Pro personal computers in Austin, Texas. It has also opened a component plant in Mesa, Ariz.
But those facilities pale in comparison to the scope of Apple's manufacturing presence in China, built out mainly through supplier and contract manufacturing partners. In recent years, Apple has expanded its supplier base to secure more production capacity in China by adding two new China-based contract manufacturers, Wistron Corp. 3231.TW -1.19% Wistron Corp. Taiwan NT$24.90 -0.30 -1.19% March 3, 2014 2:36 pm Volume : 14.05M P/E Ratio 8.63 Market Cap NT$59.93 Billion Dividend Yield N/A Rev. per Employee NT$11,061,900 More quote details and news » and Compal Communications Inc., 2324.TW 0.00% Compal Electronics Inc. Taiwan NT$20.50 0.00 0.00% March 3, 2014 2:36 pm Volume : 20.14M P/E Ratio 66.13 Market Cap NT$90.47 Billion Dividend Yield 4.91% Rev. per Employee NT$10,169,700 More quote details and news » to help produce coming iPhones and iPads, The Wall Street Journal reported in November.
—Daisuke Wakabayashi in San Francisco contributed to this article.
Write to Eva Dou at eva.dou@wsj.com
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