Volatile demonstrations broke out at Foxconn’s Zhengzhou factory in China as new hires protested what they deemed an unfair payment package and poor living conditions.
The Foxconn facility in Zhengzhou is the world’s largest iPhone assembly factory and has made headlines over the years for substandard working conditions that have driven a string of suicides.
To quell the disorder, Foxconn agreed to pay the frustrated workers 8,000 yuan, roughly $1,110, if they quit the company. An additional 2,000 yuan (about $279) was offered to those who would leave the city of Zhengzhou entirely.
The demonstrators were pushing back against what they claim was a promised 3,000-yuan ($418) bonus after their first 30 days at the company and an additional 3,000 yuan provided after 60 days. According to the workers, however, Foxconn said the first bonus would arrive in mid-March and the second in May, far longer than promised.
“The new recruits had to work more days to get the bonus they were promised, so they felt cheated,” a worker recently told CNN.
As a result of the current unrest, Daniel Ives, managing director of equity research at Wedbush Securities, estimates Apple is losing “roughly $1 billion a week in lost iPhone sales.” According to Ives, “5% of iPhone 14 sales are likely off the table due to these brutal shutdowns in China.”
Foxconn says the discrepancy was a “technical error” that occurred “during the onboarding process.” The company apologized and assured its workers that payments would be delivered “in accordance with company policies.”
Apple reportedly has employees on the ground floor at the Zhengzhou facility to monitor the fluid situation.
“We are reviewing the situation and working closely with Foxconn to ensure their employees’ concerns are addressed,” Apple said in a statement.
Numerous employees have decided to take the Foxconn offer, quit their position, and depart the city. Last Thursday, workers were witnessed lining up outdoors to take COVID tests before catching buses out of town.
Some workers that took a bus to the local train station found they could not obtain tickets home. Reportedly thousands of people were stuck at the train station through a video recording.
The Foxconn facility sits on a massive campus typically home to roughly 200,000 workers. Disgruntled employees were chanting slogans like “Down with Foxconn” and clashing with security and police armed with tear gas. As news of the protests spread live on video platforms Kuaishou and Douyin, more workers joined in.
For some employees, the latest incident was the final straw prompting them to leave the company. One worker reportedly claimed he has been working 10 hours per day, seven days a week, since the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Foxconn is a Taiwanese company … Not only did it not spread Taiwan’s values of democracy and freedom to the mainland, it was assimilated by the Chinese Communist Party and became so cruel and inhumane,” said the worker. “If today I remain silent about the suffering of others, who will speak out for me tomorrow?” he protested.