The situation at Foxconn’s massive iPhone factory in the Chinese city of Zhengzhou went from bad to worse yesterday after violent protests erupted.
As Bloomberg reports(Opens in a new window), hundreds of workers were seen storming out of their dormitories, smashing through barriers, and fighting with guards who were wearing protective white suits. Some workers were beaten with sticks, while others angrily attacked a police car. Eventually, anti-riot police arrived to get the situation back under control.
As to why the workers rebelled in this way, it’s because they are scared of what’s going on at the factory and how they are being treated. China’s Zero-COVID policy combined with COVID-19 outbreaks in Zhengzhou have led to severe restrictions. Foxconn is in lockdown mode, controlling where workers are allowed to go, what they eat, and who they can interact with. The food is described as “spartan” and medication is thought to be in very short supply.
A report by Asian Labour Review(Opens in a new window) earlier this month pointed to videos of deaths that occurred in a room within the Foxconn facility. The deaths are unverified, but the videos spread quickly among workers and understandably scared many of them. Hundreds then fled the factory.
Foxconn was left needing hundreds of new workers to allow production to continue, so it offered higher wages and promised better working conditions. The violence yesterday is thought to be at least in part because wages aren’t being paid, combined with an ongoing fear that COVID is spreading through the workforce.
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Last week the Chinese government called on military veterans to go and help make iPhones, but how many will take that request seriously after learning about what happened yesterday? There’s also bound to be an even greater impact on Apple’s ability to source enough iPhones to meet demand.
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