iPhone-Produktion soll nach Störung im Werk von Foxconn in China um 30 Prozent einbrechen

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.

Die Arbeitsunruhen im Werk Zhengzhou, die am Mittwoch begannen, markierten seltene Szenen offener Meinungsverschiedenheiten in China, von denen Arbeiter sagen, dass sie Ansprüche auf überfällige Löhne und Frustration über strenge COVID-19-Beschränkungen angeheizt haben.

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 startete Anfang dieses Monats eine Einstellungskampagne, in der Boni und höhere Gehälter versprochen wurden, nachdem das Unternehmen im Oktober Maßnahmen zur Eindämmung der Ausbreitung von COVID-19 ergreifen musste. Die Bordsteine ​​zwangen das Unternehmen, viele Mitarbeiter zu isolieren, und die Zustände im Werk veranlassten mehrere zur Flucht.

© Thomson Reuters 2022