Apple Maker Foxconn Apologizes For Hiring Error At COVID-hit China Plant

(CTN NEWS) –  A “technical issue” happened when hiring new staff at a COVID-affected iPhone factory in China, according to Apple’s top supplier Foxconn (2317. TW), which also apologized to employees after the firm was shaken by recent labour unrest.

The largest iPhone manufacturer in the world was the site of violent clashes between men and police on Wednesday when hundreds of workers demonstrated there.

Complaints of unpaid wages and annoyance with the harsh COVID-19 regulations spurred these unusual instances of public dissension in China.

Apple Supplier Foxconn Apologizes For 'Technical Error' While Hiring After Fresh Protests At iPhone Facility https://t.co/VbJHWTc4vw

— Apple Stock News (@AppleStock_News) November 24, 2022

Workers said in social media videos that Foxconn had informed them that bonus payments would be delayed. Some employees complained about being compelled to live in dorms with coworkers who had COVID positive tests.

In response to the issue, Foxconn said, “Our team has been investigating the situation and determined a technical fault occurred during the onboarding process.”

We promise that the actual remuneration is the same as what was agreed upon and indicated in the official recruitment posters, and we apologize for the computer system’s entry error.

According to a Foxconn source familiar with the situation who spoke to Reuters on Thursday, the biggest rallies had subsided by then, and the business was in contact with workers participating in smaller demonstrations.

The source claimed that operations at the plant continued on Thursday after “first agreements” were made between the company and the workers to end the conflict.

The Taiwanese business said it would honour new hires’ requests to leave the manufacturing campus and offer them “care subsidies” if they did so.

Some employees claimed they were never sure if they would get food while under quarantine at the vast industrial site in central Henan province in the videos that went viral online on Wednesday.

One person claimed that “Foxconn never treats humans as humans.”

China reported a record number of new COVID cases daily on Wednesday, up from the previous high of 29,317 on April 13.

SHARES DROP

In contrast to the market’s 0.5% increase on Thursday morning, Foxconn shares dropped 0.5%. (.TWII).

The iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max are Apple Inc. (AAPL.O) products at its Zhengzhou facility, which employs over 200,000 people.

Apple claimed to have personnel working there and to be “closely collaborating with Foxconn to guarantee that their employees’ issues are handled.” 70% of iPhone shipments worldwide originate from the manufacturer.

According to Reuters, Foxconn hoped to restart full production at the Zhengzhou factory by the second half of the month after worker unrest caused a 30% drop in iPhone production in October.

Apple has issued a warning, stating that fewer premium iPhone 14 models will ship than initially planned.

According to Wedbush Securities analyst Daniel Ives, Apple will lose around $1 billion weekly iPhone sales due to the shutdowns.

Since October, the factory has been shaken by employee dissatisfaction and discontent, primarily due to rigorous quarantine regulations, frequent COVID outbreaks, and unfavourable working circumstances, including food shortages.

Some employees left the campus rather than comply with Foxconn’s so-called closed-loop system, which mandates that employees live and work on the premises while cutting off contact with the outside world.

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