Apple supplier Foxconn’s plant near Chennai in southern India will remain closed this week, three government sources told Reuters.
The factory, located on the outskirts of Chennai, looked deserted on Tuesday, with a few cars, including a police car, parked outside. No worker was seen at the site, which was manned by two guards and a few other security officials.
A senior official of the Directorate of Industrial Safety and Health in Tamil Nadu said, “It has been closed since Saturday and will remain closed till the coming Sunday.” Two more senior state officials confirmed the suspension of activities at the factory.
The trio refused to reveal their identities as they were not authorized to speak to the media in the matter.
Police in India on Monday released dozens of people detained for blocking a major highway after last week’s food poisoning incident at a Foxconn plant that left 150 workers hospitalized. The plant makes the iPhone 12 model.
The decision to suspend activities at the plant is for management, a police official from the office of the superintendent of police in Kancheepuram, a district in Tamil Nadu, told Reuters.
The official said plant workers have complained of food poisoning and other problems in recent months and have been asked to register their concerns with the state labor ministry.
Foxconn and Apple were not available for comment.
The unrest at Foxconn is the second involving an Apple supplier factory in India in over a year.
In December 2020, thousands of contract workers at a factory owned by Wistron Corp destroyed equipment and vehicles for allegedly failing to pay wages, causing an estimated $60 million in damages.
Cupertino, California-headquartered Apple has bet big on India ever since it started iPhone assembly in the country in 2017.
Foxconn, Wistron and another supplier, Pegatron, have together committed about $900 million over five years to manufacture iPhones in India.
Apple is also planning to bring assembly of its iPad tablets to India, which is among countries including Mexico and Vietnam that are becoming increasingly important to contract manufacturers supplying American brands as they face the growing Sino-US conflict. In the midst of tension, we are trying to reduce our dependence on China.
Majority of Foxconn employees in India are women.
Apple recently began trial production of its flagship iPhone 13 at a southern Indian factory, The Economic Times reported on Tuesday, citing sources.
The report states that the company may start commercial production of the model in India for both the domestic market and exports by February.
This story has been published without modification in text from a wire agency feed. Only the title has been changed.
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