iPhone Crisis! Foxconn's woes to take bigger toll on giant China plant
Foxconn's flagship iPhone plant in China is set to see its November shipments further reduced by the latest bout of worker unrest this week, a source with direct knowledge of the matter said on Friday, as thousands of employees left the site.
The company could now see more than 30% of the site's November production affected, up from an internal estimate of up to 30% when the factory's worker troubles started in late October, the source said.
The site, which is the only factory where Foxconn makes premium iPhone models, including the iPhone 14 Pro, is unlikely to resume full production by the end of this month, the source added.
The world's largest Apple iPhone factory has been grappling with strict COVID-19 restrictions that have fuelled discontent among workers and disrupted production ahead of Christmas and January's Lunar New Year holiday, as many workers were either put into isolation or fled the plant.
It has fuelled concerns over Apple's ability to deliver products for the busy holiday period.
On Wednesday workers, most of whom were new recruits hired in recent weeks, clashed with security personnel at the Zhengzhou plant in central China.
Many claimed they were misled over compensation benefits at the factory, and others complained about sharing dormitories with colleagues who had tested positive for COVID.
Foxconn apologised for a pay-related "technical error" when hiring on Thursday, and later offered 10,000 yuan ($1,400) to protesting new recruits who agreed to resign and leave.
The source said more than 20,000 workers, mostly new hires not yet working on production lines, took the money and left. Videos posted on Chinese social media on Friday showed crowds and long lines of luggage-laden workers queuing for buses.
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