Taiwan's IT giant Foxconn said Friday two property management firms would take over its staff dormitories in the Foxconn complex in Shenzhen City, in the mainland province of Guangdong.

Foxconn Friday signed agreements with Shenzhen-based CATIC Property Management Co. and Kaiyuan Property Management Co. to subcontract the daily management work of the staff dormitories, which accommodate 220,000 of its 450,000 employees in Shenzhen.

The company has been criticized for overworking its staff and strict dormitory management after 10 employees killed themselves and two attempted suicide.

Employees would have to pay rent if they chose to live in the dormitories, but the company would offer them housing allowances, said Cheng Tianzong, vice president of the Foxconn Group.

"The amount of allowance will be based on property management companies' charges," said Liu Kun, a Foxconn spokesman.

Foxconn, the world's biggest electronics contractor, which makes products for companies such as Apple, Nokia and Dell, has 800,000 employees in China's mainland.