iPhone-produktion siges at se 30 procent fald efter afbrydelse på Foxconn-fabrikken i Kina

iPhone production could slump by at least 30 percent at Foxconn's factory in China's city of Zhengzhou after worker unrest disrupted operations, a person with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Friday. The estimate was an upward revision of an October internal forecast for production impact of up to 30 percent at the world's largest iPhone factory, said the source, who sought anonymity as the information was private.

Following this week's bout of worker unrest at the plant, the source added, it was “impossible” for the company to resume full production by the end of the month – a deadline it had set internally before Wednesday's wave of protests.

Foxconn declined to comment.

Earlier on Friday, Reuters reported that more than 20,000 employees, most of them were new hires not yet working on the production line, have left Apple supplier Foxconn's Zhengzhou plant in China, citing a Foxconn source familiar with the matter. The person said the departures would complicate the company's previous target of resuming full production by the end of November, following worker unrest that rocked production at the world's largest iPhone factory.

Foxconn has apologised for committing a pay-related “technical error” when hiring new recruits, which workers say was a factor that led to protests involving clashes with security personnel.

Arbejdsuroen på fabrikken i Zhengzhou, der begyndte onsdag, markerede sjældne scener med åben uenighed i Kina, som arbejdere siger, var drevet af påstande om forsinket løn og frustration over alvorlige COVID-19-restriktioner.

Meanwhile, a second Foxconn source familiar with the matter said some new hires had left the campus but did not elaborate on how many. The person said the departures had no impact on current production, as the new staff still needed to take training courses before working online.

Foxconn lancerede en ansættelseskampagne tidligere på måneden, hvor de lovede bonusser og højere lønninger, efter at det var nødt til at vedtage foranstaltninger for at bremse spredningen af ​​COVID-19 i oktober. Kantstenene tvang virksomheden til at isolere mange ansatte, og fabrikkens forhold fik flere til at flygte.

© Thomson Reuters 2022