Workers at the Foxconn iPhone factory in Zhengzhou, China, have clashed with the local police following several issues. Numerous videos have surfaced online showing brutal clashes between factory workers and the Chinese authorities (dressed in hazmat suits). Several videos of the scenes were live-streamed by factory workers before Chinese censors took them down.
Several factors have led to the protest. Workers have complained about the food they have been provided with. There are also reports that Foxconn has denied bonuses to those who have been quarantined before hitting assembly lines. It is thought that the financial penalty, coupled with the rudimentary living conditions and the ongoing fear of infection, has culminated in a crisis.
More riots broken out at Foxconn factory in communist #china's Zhengzhou. Violence clashes escalated by both CCP & chinese rioters, tear gas grenades were fired as chinese rioters returned hostiles w/ fire distinguisher. pic.twitter.com/5OU7dXAiiE
— Northrop Gundam ∀ 2.0 捍禦の大佐 🇹🇼🌻 (@GundamNorthrop) November 23, 2022
Around 200,000 people work at Foxconn’s Zhengzhou iPhone factory in China. The factory is responsible for manufacturing a large chunk of all the iPhone 14 units sold worldwide. And this is not the first time issues are popping up at the Foxconn factory in China. COVID lockdowns and strict rules have made it difficult to keep employees on-site.
While Foxconn has offered bonuses and ramped up production at a factory in Shenzhen in an effort to mitigate supply issues, workers at the Zhengzhou plant have accused the company of failing to live up to its contracts.
“They changed the contract so that we could not get the subsidy as they had promised. They quarantine us but don’t provide food,” said one Foxconn worker on video shared online. “If they do not address our needs, we will keep fighting.”
While Apple is planning to diversify its products’ manufacturing around the world, the current situation in China seems quite worrying, especially with the holiday season ahead. The iPhone 14 Pro is already short in supply, and the company has warned potential buyers that they’ll have to dig hard to find a unit in the coming months.
Via: Financial Times
