China: Foxconn apologizes after protests at reconfigured Zhengzhou iPhone factory

Taiwanese group Foxconn on Thursday apologized for wages at its iPhone factory in Zhengzhou, central China, where strict coronavirus measures are in place and where violent protests have erupted.

“Our team investigated this matter and found that a technical error has occurred,” the statement said. “We apologize for the computer system entry error and guarantee that the actual compensation will be the same as agreed,” the group added.

Massive protests erupted on Wednesday at the world’s largest iPhone factory in China. This is the property of the Taiwanese subcontractor Foxconn. The factory is located in Zhengzhou, central Henan province. It is a huge industrial site that typically employs 200,000 people, most of whom live in dormitories.

Footage of the protests verified by AFP shows a crowd of workers marching down the street. Some run into people in white suits and riot police. In the video, filmed at night, a man appears with a bloody face. Off-screen, another is heard saying, “They hit people, they hit people. Do they have a conscience? »

Rebuilt part of the city

Zhengzhou, a city in central China that houses a huge iPhone factory, has ordered several districts to close due to the Covid-19 outbreak, which sparked violent protests.

Downtown residents are no longer allowed to leave the area without a negative Covid test and permission from local authorities, and are advised not to leave their homes “unnecessarily,” Zhengzhou city officials announced.

These restrictions, which will be in effect for five days from midnight Friday, will affect more than 6 million people, or about half of the city’s population. The authorities’ notice, issued late Wednesday night, also requires all residents of the eight districts to take a daily PCR test over a five-day period.

The order was announced by the city of Zhengzhou after violent protests at the sprawling iPhone factory complex earlier this week. The plant, owned by Taiwanese tech giant Foxconn, will not be affected by the new order. But it has been under COVID-19 restrictions for more than a month due to an increase in cases in its workers’ dormitories.

Footage taken last month shows panicked workers fleeing the site on foot, with some complaining about the chaos and disorganization at the site.

On Wednesday, the Zhengzhou government said the outbreak in the city was “still serious and complex.” On Thursday, 675 new Covid cases were reported in Zhengzhou, the vast majority of which were asymptomatic.