Foxconn announced a large-scale recruitment plan to hire around 15,000 employees in Taiwan this year, together with the company's record-high investment projects of NT$10 billion (US$329.6 million; US$1=NT$30.342) set to strengthen its R&D capability, as reported by Taiwan's United Evening News on March 13. With an aim to grow beyond its core business of contract manufacturing, Foxconn will hire talented recruits with background in 4G communications, automation, biotechnology, big data, cloud computing, and software development. Currently, Foxconn has around 50,000 workforces in Taiwan and over one million in China.