SAN JERONIMO, CHIHUAHUA, MEXICO -- Although no longer talking about employing 30,000 workers here, Foxconn (Hon Hai) plans to have 7,500 employees in place by fall, according to published reports.

Moreover, the world's largest EMS/ODM firm will hire a total of 10,000 employees withing five years, said Francisco Uranga, corporate vice president for Foxconn's operations in Latin America, as reported by the El Paso Times.

The numbers, though significant, are considerably lower than the original estimates, which called for as many as 30,000 workers.

Uranga added that the campus, located in a San Jeronimo free-trade zone some distance from the bulk of the Juarez population, would install dormitories and offer day care within the complex.

The company expects to produce a million PCs by this fall, the paper reported.