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The flagship iPhone production facility of Foxconn Technology Group in China is expected to experience a significant decrease in November shipments as thousands of staff resign in response to the most recent round of labor unrest.
The world’s largest Apple iPhone manufacturer has been dealing with rigorous COVID-19 limitations, which have stoked worker resentment and delayed productivity in advance of the Christmas and Lunar New Year holidays.
Many of the workers were put in isolation or ran away from the plant.
After things got worse on Wednesday and workers fought with security staff, a source with direct knowledge of the situation said on Friday that more than 30 per cent of the site’s November production could be affected.
When the labor problems started in late October, the estimate was up to per cent.
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The sole plant producing high-end iPhones like the iPhone 14 Pro is reportedly not expected to return to full capacity until the month is over.
The company, formerly known as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co, has chosen to remain silent
After claiming to have employees there on Thursday, Apple did not react to a request for comment made on Friday.
As worries grow about Apple’s ability to get products to stores in time for the busy holiday season, Victoria Scholar, head of investments at Interactive Investor, said.”The worker unrest at Foxconn’s plant in China could weigh on Apple’s November iPhone shipments.”
Stocks of Apple Inc. were trading down 1.9% by late morning on Friday, while the Nasdaq Composite Index was down 0.3%.
Scholar said, “Apple is still viewed as one of the more resilient stocks in the tech sector … However, Apple continues to hold off from providing official guidance given the macroeconomic uncertainty.”
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On Tuesday, U.S. electronics retailer Best Buy Co., Inc. predicted that its premium iPhone selection will be limited during the next holiday shopping season.
Black Friday sales of iPhones at Apple outlets in the United States were down from the previous year and it was taking longer to restock supplies, according to industry analysts.
Recently hired workers have complained that they were misinformed about the factory’s benefits package and that they were forced to live in dorms with coworkers who tested positive for the COVID-19 virus.
On Thursday, Foxconn acknowledged a “technical error” in their hiring process and offered new hires who agreed to resign 10,000 yuan ($A2,076) to leave the company.
According to the source, over twenty thousand employees took the money and ran away.
Most of them were recent hires who had not yet started working on the manufacturing lines.
Photos and videos shared on Chinese social media on Friday showed workers waiting in huge lines with their luggage to board buses.
Until recently, the facility had more than 200,000 employees.
Jaw de Guzman is the content producer for Comms Room, a knowledge platform and website aimed at assisting the communications industry and its professionals.
