Unrest and production disruptions at Foxconn's main iPhone plant in China - KFGO

(Reuters) – Hundreds of workers connected Wednesday joined protests astatine Foxconn’s flagship iPhone works successful China, successful the latest upheaval related to strict COVID-19 controls.

Here is simply a timeline of problems astatine the world’s biggest iPhone plant, located successful the cardinal Chinese metropolis of Zhengzhou.

OCT. 13

Amid rising COVID-19 cases successful Zhengzhou, Foxconn puts the plant’s 200,000 workers nether closed-loop absorption – a strategy wherever unit unrecorded and enactment on-site isolated from the wider world.

OCT. 21

Foxconn tightens COVID-19 restrictions astatine the works but says accumulation remains normal.

OCT. 30

Migrant workers person begun to fly the plant’s field and instrumentality to their hometowns. Cities successful cardinal China hastily gully up plans to isolate them, fearing they could trigger COVID outbreaks.

OCT. 31

Production of Apple Inc’s iPhones could slump by arsenic overmuch arsenic 30% astatine the works successful November owed to the tighter COVID curbs, a idiosyncratic with nonstop cognition of the substance tells Reuters.

NOV. 1

Foxconn says it has quadrupled bonuses connected connection for workers astatine the works arsenic it seeks to quell discontent implicit the COVID curbs and clasp staff.

NOV. 2

China orders the concern parkland successful Zhengzhou that houses the Foxconn mill to participate a seven-day lockdown.

NOV. 7

Apple says its expects little shipments of premium iPhone 14 models than antecedently anticipated pursuing a important accumulation chopped astatine the Zhengzhou plant, dampening its income outlook for the engaged year-end vacation season.

NOV. 9

The Zhengzhou works continues to isolate its operations and unit contempt the assistance of a seven-day lockdown for the remainder of the concern parkland successful which it is located.

NOV. 10

Foxconn says it expects smartphone gross to autumn successful the 4th fourth and is adjusting accumulation to forestall caller COVID curbs successful Zhengzhou from impacting vacation orders.

NOV. 23

Footage connected societal media of the protests amusement men wielding sticks smash surveillance cameras and windows. The trigger for the protests appears to person been a program to hold bonus payments, galore of the demonstrators said connected livestream feeds. Reuters was not capable to instantly verify the videos.

(Writing by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)