The iPhone 5 has been generating a number of rumours and speculation in recent weeks with numerous leaks suggesting different specs and release dates, and now there are reports suggesting that Foxconn needs 18,000 employees to produce the iPhone 5 for a June release.

It is being reported by Cnet that a recruiting office for the company is telling potential staff that Apple’s next iPhone will be available in June. A Japanese broadcaster has recorded a conversation with a Foxconn recruiter saying that the company needs an extra 18,000 employees to produce the iPhone 5.

Translated the recruiter responds to a question with the answer “because it seems it will go on sale in June”, and this is not the first time it has been suggested the next version of the iPhone would be available during the summer after an analyst at Daiwa Securities made similar claims in January.

The TV Tokyo program was featuring a report about Japan Display, which is a company that has been formed by the merger of the display businesses of Sony, Toshiba, and Hitachi after the countries flat-panel industry has come under increased competition from Chinese and Korean companies.

According to the program Foxconn already has 80,000 workers at its Taiyuan plant, and the company has long worked with Apple and produced the iPhone. Only last month we told you about a strike by Foxconn workers that could possibly affect the production of the iPhone 5.

Hundreds of workers allegedly downed tools and walked out in a dispute over pay, and at the time it was reported the company was looking to hire an extra 20,000 staff for the production of Apple’s flagship smartphone. We have already reported about a possible date for this year’s WWDC event in June, and if these latest reports are true we could be seeing the iPhone 5 being unveiled.

Do you expect Apple to release the iPhone 5 in June?