This is where things get tricky.
iPhone workers have reportedly been walking out in significant numbers following a recent COVID-19 outbreak at the world’s largest iPhone assembly plant in Zhengzhou, China.
While some are worried about the risk of infection, others are said to be unhappy about Foxconn’s lockdown policies, which have allowed the plant to continue operations. Foxconn remains Apple’s primary iPhone assembler.
The production facility includes roughly 300,000 workers, alongside a number of other Apple suppliers based in the city, thereby earning it the nickname “iPhone City.”
China still maintains a zero-COVID-19 policy, attempting to completely eliminate the virus from the country by imposing citywide lockdowns in response to even a handful of positive tests.
In an attempt to implement this policy without shattering its economy, China allows what is known as “closed-loop production,” where staff work, eat, and sleep on the campus during lockdowns. The last citywide lockdown was back in May, a month after iPhone production was halted in an earlier outbreak in Shanghai, but a partial lockdown is now in operation.
Foxconn last week confirmed reports of a COVID-19 outbreak within its plant. The company didn’t give a specific number as to how many workers were infected, stating that this was “a small number,” that production remains “relatively stable” and that the situation was “controllable.”
Social media posts from workers indicated that infection numbers continue to rise, and that Foxconn is struggling to provide enough food and medication for those in quarantine.
According to the Washington Post, a growing number of iPhone workers are walking out of the plant, with no plans to return.
“It’s too dangerous to go to work,” a 21-year-old worker who has been confined to his dorm told The Wall Street Journal, saying that he was skeptical about the company’s claim that there was a low level of infections at the plant […]
According to interviews with the Journal, some workers stated that many colleagues had refused to return to the production lines, while others had simply left, they said, sometimes abandoning their belongings […]
Over the weekend, videos geotagged near the Foxconn site went viral on China’s social-media platforms, recording groups of people walking on highways or through farm fields carrying suitcases and backpacks. Other footage showed makeshift stations set up by local residents offering bottles of water in front of handwritten signs to support migrant Foxconn workers leaving for home.
Foxconn has denied reports of failure to provide adequate food and medicine, and has stated that the company is offering transport to any workers who wish to leave the plant and return home. The company has stated that it is arranging additional production capacity at smaller plants, to help make up the shortfall. In addition, Foxconn has begun offering free meals and a bonus of around 1,500 yuan ($200) for anyone who works all of their shifts from October 26 to November 11. This amounts to roughy 20 percent of their monthly salary.
Apple warned during its latest earnings call that sales could be impacted by both the economy and the pandemic. In particular, Tim Cook said that the company is currently unable to make enough iPhone 14 Pro models to keep up with demand.
Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.
Via 9to5Mac, the Washington Post, and the Wall Street Journal