Foxconn woes mount, threaten iPhone production
STORY: A week of worker unrest is causing mounting trouble for tech giant Foxconn - and major customer Apple.
The Taiwanese firm has seen a wave of protests at its vast plant in Zhenghzhou, China.
Workers are unhappy at strict lockdowns and poor conditions.
Now a source says more than 20,000 staff have opted to take a severance payment that was on offer, and quit.
Most were reportedly new hires not yet working on production lines.
But Foxconn could still face difficulty meeting targets.
One source says it could now see more than 30% of November production affected.
They said the Zhenghzhou facility is unlikely to resume full output before the end of this month.
That’s bad news for Apple, since it produces 70% of all iPhones.
It’s also the only place making some high-end versions of the smartphone.
And any shortfall in output would come just as the key festive season shopping period begins.
Foxconn had no immediate comment on the latest reports.
One source at the firm said the events would hurt its image, but not really damage output that much.
