Apple iPhone maker Foxconn Zhengzhou, China, saw a heavy departure of employees. Over 20,000 workers, along with new hires who have not started working on the production line yet, have left the plant, a Foxconn source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Friday.
This comes just a day after violent protection broke out at the facility. The protests and subsequent lockdown in the city have already disturbed the manufacturer’s production timeline. The mass scale of departure is expected to further worsen the conditions.
According to the reports, the departure was set to complicate the company’s previous target to resume total production in November.
In this scenario, Foxconn, formally known as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co, declined to comment. Apple also refused to comment on this matter.
Employees have also complained about sharing dormitories with colleagues who tested COVID-positive. They claimed that they were misled over compensation benefits at the factory that accounts for 70% of global iPhone shipments.
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Another Foxconn source familiar with the matter said that the departure of new employees had no impact on current production as the new employee will still need to take training courses before working online, but it would impact the public image.
“The incident has a big impact on our public image but little on our (current) capacity. Our current capacity is not affected,” the source said.
Foxconn launched a hiring drive this month, promising bonuses and higher salaries, which can help the company get new employees.