Foxconn riots push iPhone production harder

Foxconn

Because of the recent record high corona infections in China, the Foxconn plant in Zhengzhou has been operating in a so-called closed cycle for weeks. This means that a total of 200,000 employees live and work on the site, isolated from the outside world.

(Photo: AP)

Taipei According to an insider, the recent unrest in the world’s largest iPhone factory of the Apple supplier Foxconn is affecting production before the important Christmas business more than previously thought. Manufacturing of Apple smartphones will fall by at least 30 percent instead of up to 30 percent as previously thought, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters on Friday.

With the current exodus of employees, it is impossible to expand capacities again as planned by the end of the month. The factory in the central Chinese industrial metropolis of Zhengzhou mainly produces iPhone 14 models.

According to another insider, more than 20,000 mostly newly hired employees have left the Foxconn factory in Zhengzhou. They have not yet been involved in production.

The Taiwanese group admitted “technical errors” in the processing of new hires on Thursday and apologized after riots broke out on Wednesday out of frustration over withheld wages and bonuses and because of the far-reaching corona restrictions. These were rare scenes of open disagreement in China.

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Foxconn then offered protesting newcomers a bonus of the equivalent of 1340 euros if they left the company. Videos posted on Chinese online networks showed long lines of workers waiting for buses with their belongings. Foxconn declined to comment on the matter. The US technology giant Apple, which had announced that it would send its own employees to the Foxconn plant, could not initially be reached for comment.

Employees live and work isolated from the outside world

Corona infections in China had recently risen to a record high. The Foxconn plant in Zhengzhou has been working in a so-called closed cycle for weeks because of the many infections.

Giga factory

200,000

Employee

from Foxconn live and work in a 1.4 square kilometer area with dormitories, restaurants and sports facilities.

This means that a total of 200,000 employees live and work on the site, isolated from the outside world. On the 1.4 square kilometer area there are not only halls of residence, but also restaurants and sports facilities. This Foxconn factory is almost as big as the main island of Heligoland.

According to insiders, 20,000 employees are leaving the iPhone factory

The pandemic restrictions are also being tightened again in the rest of the People’s Republic. This dampens hopes of a speedy recovery in the second largest economy and fuels fears of a recession in large parts of the world.

According to the investment bank Nomura, more than a fifth of China’s total gross domestic product is affected by lockdowns. The number arithmetically exceeds the size of the entire UK economy.

More: Violent corona outbreaks in China – fear of new lockdowns is growing

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