SHANGHAI, Nov 23 (Reuters) – Men with sticks smashed surveillance cameras and windows at a massive campus owned by Apple ( AAPL.O ) supplier Foxconn ( 2317.TW ) in the Chinese city of Zhengzhou, scenes broadcast live on Kuaishou’s short video. platform showed on Wednesday.
Hundreds of workers protested at the campus, home to the world’s largest iPhone factory, with many chanting “Give us our pay.” They were surrounded by people in hazmat suits, some with clubs.
The footage, which Reuters could not immediately verify, comes after weeks of unrest that have seen dozens of workers flee the factory over COVID-19 controls.
Many former workers have spoken of food shortages and strict quarantine rules, and Foxconn has had to offer incentives such as bonuses to retain or attract workers. Read more
Several people told live-streaming channels they were protesting after being told this week they would receive their bonuses later than originally promised.
“Foxconn never treats humans as humans,” one person said in footage of the scenes on social media.
Two sources with knowledge of the matter said there were protests at the Zhengzhou campus, but declined to provide further details.
Foxconn and Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
By 0515 GMT, most of the images had been removed. Kuaishou did not respond to a request for comment.
Some videos showed people pulling down barriers set up in quarantine zones as part of China’s zero-covid policy or arguing with staff appropriate for hazardous material.
Other videos showed workers complaining about the food they had been provided while in quarantine or complaining that sidewalks were inadequate to contain an outbreak.
Relentless controls and sporadic lockdowns across China have fueled discontent across the country, hitting economic growth and raising concerns about global supply chains as companies struggle to keep factories running while staff are furloughed. ‘infects
Foxconn has maintained so-called closed-circuit operations at the plant, a system in which staff live and work on-site in isolation from the wider world, because of the COVID outbreaks in Zhengzhou.
The restrictions and discontent have affected production, prompting Apple to say earlier this month that it expected lower shipments of premium iPhone 14 models.
Foxconn, formally Hon Hai Precision Industry Co Ltd, is Apple’s largest iPhone manufacturer, accounting for 70% of iPhone shipments worldwide. It makes most of the phones at the Zhengzhou plant, where it employs about 200,000 people, although it has other smaller production sites in India and southern China.
Reporting by Brenda Goh and Beijing Newsroom; Additional reporting by David Kirton in Shenzhen and Yimou Lee in Taipei; Edited by Edmund Klamann and Edwina Gibbs
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