TAIPEI -- Foxconn will hire a reported 5,000 specialists here this year to design, build and program factory robots, company officials said.

Foxconn said the hires will help automated its assembly lines, bluntly the fast-rising wages in China. Some reports assert that the move underscores Foxconn's decision to refocus its efforts on Taiwan at the expense of expanding in China.

Foxconn plans to assign some workers to its software complex in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, and others to its robot research or development units.

Foxconn employs a reported 10,000 robots for basic tasks such as painting and welding and has indicated it will ramp that count to one million in coming years.