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Foxconn, Apple's main iPhone supplier, to reportedly slash $2.9B in costs

The company expects 2019 to be a "very difficult and competitive year," Bloomberg reports.

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Foxconn expects a tough 2019.

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iPhone assembler Foxconn intends to slash 20 billion yuan ($2.9 billion) from its costs next year, according to Bloomberg.

Foxconn, which is the primary manufacturer of Apple's iPhones, predicts that 2019 will be a "very difficult and competitive year," Bloomberg reported Wednesday, citing an internal company memo.

The company cuts include a 6 billion yuan ($865 million) reduction in its iPhone-related expenses specifically, Bloomberg noted. It also intends to cut about 10 percent of its non-technical staff and review managers with annual salaries over $150,000.

Its expenses in the past year were about $6.7 billion, according to Bloomberg.

This news follows a Monday report that Foxconn had cut overtime hours typically available for workers after Apple reduced production orders for its iPhone XS, XS Max and XR. Earlier this month, Apple hinted that the 2018 models didn't sell as well as analysts expected immediately after their September release.

Neither Apple nor Foxconn immediately responded to requests for comment.

Over the summer, President Donald Trump hailed Foxconn's plans to build a new $10 billion electronics manufacturing plant in Wisconsin.

First published at Nov. 21 at 4:36 a.m. PT.
Update, 5:10 a.m. PT: Adds more details and background.

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