Over 20,000 workers—mostly recent hires—have left the Foxconn iPhone facility in Zhengzhou as a result of widespread demonstrations, a Foxconn source told Reuters on Friday. The Covid pandemic had already impacted production at the plant, and now the departures from the biggest iPhone factory in the world strike a fresh blow to the Taiwanese company.
Apple had previously stated that because of decreased output at the plant, customers may have to wait longer to receive their smartphones. Worker discontent at the Zhengzhou plant, which manufactures the popular iPhone 14 models, has raised concerns about the company’s capacity to deliver the goods on schedule before the busy holiday season.
This will make it more difficult for Foxconn to meet its goal
This week, there had been a new disturbance at the facility, with reports of violent protests. The staff members grumbled about living in dorms with coworkers who had COVID. They asserted that they were misled regarding the factory’s compensation benefits as well. It should be noted that the business had previously offered four times the bonus to employees who would work through the Covid outbreak at the plant.
The insider stated that the departures will make it more difficult for Foxconn to meet its goal of starting full production by the end of November.
Foxconn had on Thursday expressed regret to the workers and provided financial compensation to new hires who chose to depart due to a “technical issue” involving their pay. In an effort to put an end to the protests, it offered to pay each newly hired employee 10,000 yuan (about $1,400) to leave the site immediately. The offer was made on Wednesday, and Chinese internet news source Cailianshe reported it.
Videos shared on Chinese social media on Friday showed throngs and extended lines of workers waiting for buses while carrying a lot of stuff. One user wrote on social media, “Time to go home.” On Thursday, China recorded 32,943 new COVID-19 infections, up from the amount of 31,444 cases reported on Wednesday. There were no further deaths noted.