More than 20,000 new hires left Apple supplier Foxconn's plant in China

Employees are leaving a vast Foxconn iPhone factory in central China over working conditions and Covid restrictions, relieved to be taking pay-offs home after angry protests at the Taiwanese tech giant’s plant.

The workers are leaving the plant in Zhengzhou in the wake of bloody clashes with police, in which more than a dozen protesters were hurt, furious about Foxconn’s failure to deliver promised bonuses, employees told AFP.

The company could now see more than 30 per cent of the site’s November production affected, up from an internal estimate of up to 30 per cent when the factory’s worker troubles started in late October, according to Reuters.

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.

Foxconn has been desperate to keep operations ticking along at the factory, the world’s biggest manufacturer of iPhones, after a handful of Covid cases forced it to lock down the facility.

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.

Now the firm is offering payouts to those that leave, with employees taking to social media Thursday to show they had received bonuses of 10,000 yuan ($1,400) in return for terminating their contracts.

Several coaches are parked outside dormitories in the background of several videos, supposedly there to take staff home.

“Everyone’s got their money and are about to leave,” the female worker said.

“I’m pretty satisfied, workers who still want this or that should not be too greedy,” she said.

Foxconn also appears keen to placate those who were beaten by police, with another worker telling AFP that injured colleagues received an additional 500 yuan on top of their leaving bonus.

On Wednesday workers, most of whom were new recruits hired in recent weeks, clashed with security personnel.

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.

“It’s time to go home,” one person posted.

With inputs from agencies

Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,
India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.