Taiwan's Hon Hai Precision, the world's largest contract manufacturer of electronic goods, will begin mass production of Apple's next-generation iPhone this month, local media reported Friday.

Mass production of a 4.7in successor to the wildly popular iPhone 5 series of smartphones will begin during the third week of July, Taiwan’s Economic Daily News said, without citing sources. Production of a 5.5in version will begin during the second week of August, it said.

A separate report issued Thursday by a China state-run news service said Hon Hai Precision, which trades as Foxconn is planning to hire 100,000 workers at its mainland facilities to meet future demand for the gadget, citing comments made by the chief of the Henan Provincial Commerce Department.

Fellow Taiwanese contract manufacturer Pegatron this month also began recruitment of over 10,000 workers for its mainland facilities to manufacture the phone, according to the Economic Daily News report.

Hon Hai Precision had no comment on the report. Representatives for Pegatron and the Henan Provincial Commerce Department could not immediately be reached for comment.

Reuters