Apple Inc. is hiring new engineers and supply-chain managers in China and Taiwan in order to speed up the release of new products.
Apple is currently hiring engineers from HTC Corp., a rival smartphone maker, and other technology firms in Taiwan in order to create engineering teams in Shanghai and Taipei, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The goal of the hiring spree is to increase the speed at which the Cupertino, Calif. company can develop devices, such as iPads and iPhones, so that products are released at a faster rate, InvestorPlace reported.
The global supply chain has become more important to successful tech companies such as Apple, Facebook and Google, Wired reported. Apple is looking for more efficient ways to deliver iPhones and iPads, and Facebook and Google are developing closer relationships with Asian hardware companies that build the data center hardware supporting popular web devices.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Apple currently employs over 600 engineers and operational workers in China, and has added several hundred employees to its staff in China since mid-2013. In August, Apple used the networking website LinkedIn to gain engineers from HTC, Quanta Computer Inc. Inventec Corp., and other tech companies.
Apple is also facing pressure in increasing innovation in its product development and releasing new devices, according to InvestorPlace. Apple released two models of the iPhone 5, the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c, last year, which was the first time the company released two models of a product. The company is expected to repeat the same process with the upcoming iPhone 6, which will be released with different screen sizes.
While Apple is looking to increase manufacturing in China, the company has been facing criticism from lawmakers and activists groups over its growing development of products in Asia. Apple said in December it began manufacturing Mac Pro personal computers in Austin, Texas, and it had opened a component plant in Mesa, Ariz. While plans with Asia continue, Apple will be moving several production lines back to the U.S.
