It’s no secret that these workers working in the largest iPhone factory in China didn’t even have one for themselves, so what caused the riots?
For many nations, the COVID-19 epidemic is no longer a major issue. China, the virus’s alleged epicenter, has a quite different situation, though. Almost every area, particularly the technology industry, is directly impacted by the country’s ongoing stringent restrictions.
For instance, the Chinese city of Zhengzhou has been quarantined by the authorities. This area also houses the Foxconn factory, Apple’s top vendor. The most recent reports state that frustrated employees rioted at the factory due to the pandemic restriction.
On Wednesday, security officers and Foxconn employees at China’s largest iPhone plant got into a fight.
Unfortunately, the uprising was not spontaneous; over the previous few weeks, Foxconn forbade assembly line workers from leaving the confines of the facility and made them dine in their dormitories rather than the dining hall.
In reality, some workers surreptitiously left the factory after becoming weary of the limitations and resigned.
After the occurrences, Apple acknowledged that there would be a scarcity of the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max models over the holiday season due to a lack of personnel.
Unfortunately, even though Foxconn pledged to improve working conditions and provided bonuses to returning employees, it wasn’t enough.
On Wednesday, it was seen that over 100 Foxconn employees were pushing through overworked security. Social media users shared several videos, one of which showed employees smashing through barricades while onlookers screamed “fight, fight” in the distance.
Another video showed a person striking a man on the ground with a stick while donning a white hazmat suit. At the factory that makes 50% of the iPhones sold worldwide, a number of employees suffered injuries. Requests for comments from Apple and Foxconn have received no responses.
Foxconn officials, who worried that Apple wants to move iPhone production outside of China, will quadruple its headcount in the next two years. Foxconn is one of China’s largest taxpayers and the country’s largest employers. Possible landing points for iPhone production are India, Vietnam and Mexico but no official announcement yet.
