The images are embarrassing to say the least for Taiwan’s Foxconn and its main customer, Apple. Since Saturday, October 29, videos have been circulating on social media showing workers at the Foxconn factory in the Chinese city of Zhengzhou climbing fences to escape. The factory specifically assembles iPhones on behalf of Apple. However, the site was once again restricted after Covid cases were announced (40 to 100, according to sources), in line with Beijing’s policy since the start of the pandemic. For Chinese workers, this type of measure involves detention at their workplace. These mega-manufacturing complexes, the Foxconn factory in Zhengzhou, which employs between 200,000 and 300,000 people, generally include dormitories and cafeterias. The city has 10 million inhabitants.
Amidst the tension, the local authorities have even started evacuating some workers by bus, while the factory management is no longer able to provide food, accommodation and working conditions. Financial Times. The stories tell of the solidarity of local residents with the workers who were the first to store food on the way to the exiles.
A decline in iPhone production
To keep its employees, Foxconn announced on the social network WeChat on Tuesday that it would pay a bonus of 400 yuan (about 55 euros) a day for one day’s work attendance, four times the usual. Staff will also receive an additional bonus if they are at the plant for at least 15 days in November. This bonus can reach 15,000 yuan (€2,075) if available for the entire month.
The impact on production capacities was calculated as “at least 10%by local analysts. However, 60% of iPhones assembled by Foxconn are located in this factory. The glitch could affect up to 30% of iPhone production over the next few months. This bottleneck comes at the worst time for the brand, as the last quarter is traditionally when it sells the largest number of its smartphones. Even if, given the delivery times, year-end sales should be little affected.
This new crisis also strengthens the position of Apple, which seeks to reduce its dependence on “Made in China“. Taiwan’s Foxconn also increased iPhone production capacity at its Indian plant last summer. Finally, this crisis comes in a complicated geopolitical context, while relations between China and Taiwan have further deteriorated. Beijing happily shows the working and living conditions of Foxconn employees.
Source: Le Figaro
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.