There was a de facto riot at a major Foxconn plant for two days, now calm has returned. 20,000 workers scheduled to produce Apple's iPhones have quit. They should still receive some money, everyone who stays on site will receive further bonuses.
It looked pretty desolate what happened in Foxconn's huge factory in the last few days Zhengzhou, China. This time it was not directly about the government's COVID restrictions, but the treatment by the Foxconn group. He had recently tried several times to improve the badly paid employees and living conditions – with money.
However, the basic cause may have been the COVID restrictions. Because a few weeks ago the factory complex was under lockdown, nothing went in or out, as the Chinese method envisages in these cases. As a result, Foxconn made large-scale new hires on the wallet to save the production of the iPhone, at that time even Apple spoke up. And workers who work and live at the plants should get bonuses for staying in the bubble. But the money didn't arrive, or only in part, and there was an imbalance in favor of new hires, for which Foxconn has already apologized with a “technical error”.
Foxconn workers united, protest continues pic.twitter.com/asf2MW071A
— China Labor Watch (@chinalaborwatch) November 24, 2022
Money rules the world
After days of arguments and street battles with the police, calm has now returned. Once again it is the purse that satisfies or is supposed to satisfy the climate. Even former employees or the new hires who are now leaving directly should receive the equivalent of around 1,400 US dollars in severance pay. Reuters reports that more than 20,000 workers will probably accept this offer – this once again illustrates the huge complexes of the contract manufacturer.
Foxconn doesn't expect any impact on production in the end, sources say, but whether that's the whole truth remains unclear, with other reports predicting a production drop of up to 30 percent in November. However, Foxconn's image is said to have suffered more than the iPhone. And the workers? You go directly to the nearest manufacturer. Recently it was already read that Pegatron will take over parts of the iPhone production. And it is precisely this group that is said to have used the last few days intensively to hire (Foxconn) employees, according to Taiwanese media.
Apple was once again extremely quiet, said bis for yesterday, after everything was over, nothing. The group has had to listen to this criticism for years whenever its benevolent China policy is discussed – or not. At least there was a diplomatic statement at the end: “We are reviewing the situation and working closely with Foxconn to ensure their employees' concerns are addressed,” reports the Wall Street Journal. The wallet has won once more.