Apple restricts supplier after factory violence
One week after violence broke out at a smartphone plant, Apple placed a Taiwanese contract manufacturer on probation. The iPhone maker said Saturday it would not award Wistron new business until the supplier addressed the way workers were treated at its plant in southern India.
Apple said its early audit showed Wistron had violated its “Supplier Code of Conduct.” Wistron admitted on Saturday some workers at the plant in Karnataka state had not been properly paid or paid on time and that it would remove a top executive who oversees its India business.
The plant was forced to shut down after workers angry over unpaid wages destroyed property, gear and iPhones last Saturday. They caused millions of dollars in losses.
The probation will likely also dent Apple’s plans to scale up in India, a market it has bet on to diversify its production base beyond China.
