Apart from the crammed dormitories and rigid quarantine enforcement, workers also complained about employee benefits. Two ex-workers who spoke on condition of anonymity said promised allowances were cut. While Foxconn confirmed on Wednesday that workers protested over their work allowance, it said this payment “has always been fulfilled based on contractual obligation”.
The latest disruption at the Foxconn site reflects how initiatives taken by Chinese government authorities to support this major facility in Apple’s manufacturing supply chain were miscalculated and have spectacularly boomeranged.
Workers at Foxconn Technology Group’s manufacturing complex in Zhengzhou, capital of central Henan province, are seen kicking down barriers in protest, as they clash with security personnel and local police on November 23, 2022. Photo: Agence France-Presse.
The exodus prompted Apple to warn about “lower iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max shipments” because Foxconn’s Zhengzhou factory was “operating at significantly reduced capacity”.
A new recruit surnamed Zhang, who is from a neighbouring province, said he had to share a room at a Foxconn dormitory in Yukang New Town with seven other new hires. “Everyone in the dormitory wants to quit,” he said.
Before he was bused into the dormitory, Zhang had to quarantine in a hotel room for three days after registering with a labour agency to work for Foxconn.
“The factory is in chaos,” Zhang said. “I heard the [Covid-19] positive cases are still working inside the factory.” He added that some people who had already quarantined for three days still cannot get into the factory to start work.
His account echoed those of shared on social media by another new Foxconn hire, who goes by the pseudonym “Xiaodong” on Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok. Although Foxconn paid him 400 yuan (US$55.86) a day as quarantine allowance, Xiaodong said they are still afraid of the Covid-19 situation in Foxconn.
The Taiwanese company, formally known as Hon Hai Precision Industry, said in a statement on Thursday that there was a “technical error” during the onboarding process. It also guaranteed that “the actual pay is the same as agreed and [advertised in the] official recruitment posters”. It did not elaborate.
Zhengzhou, with a population of 12 million, has announced another five-day lockdown from Friday after reporting 153 new infections and 521 asymptotic cases on Wednesday.
“The zero-Covid shutdowns at Foxconn [in mainland China] have been a major gut punch to Apple this quarter and we believe have taken roughly 5 per cent of iPhone 14 units out of the supply chain,” Wedbush Securities analysts Daniel Ives and John Katsingris wrote in a research note published on Wednesday.
They suggested that the disruption in Apple’s China manufacturing supply chain could cause major iPhone 14 shortages well into this Christmas season, as demand for the device’s popular models has outweighed supply.
Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday.
