Apple supplier Foxconn apologises for hiring blunder at COVID-hit China plant

TAIPEI, Nov 24 (Reuters) – Apple’s major supplier
Foxconn said on Thursday a “technical error” occurred
when hiring new recruits at a COVID-hit iPhone factory in China
and apologised to workers after the company was rocked by fresh
labour unrest.

Men smashed surveillance cameras and windows as hundreds of
workers protested at the plant in Zhengzhou city on Wednesday,
in rare scenes of open dissent in China sparked by claims of
overdue pay and frustration over severe COVID-19 restrictions.

Workers said on videos circulated on social media that they
had been informed that Foxconn intended to delay bonus payments.
Some workers also complained they were forced to share
dormitories with colleagues who had tested positive for COVID.

“Our team has been looking into the matter and discovered a
technical error occurred during the onboarding process,” Foxconn
said in a statement.

“We apologize for an input error in the computer system and
guarantee that the actual pay is the same as agreed and the
official recruitment posters.”

The largest protests had died down by Thursday and the
company was communicating with employees engaged in smaller
protests, a Foxconn source familiar with the matter told
Reuters.

The Taiwanese company said it would try to solve concerns
and meet worker demands, with “corresponding care subsidies”
offered to those who want to return to their hometowns.

The Zhengzhou plant employs more than 200,000 people to make
Apple Inc devices including the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro
Max.

The person said the company had reached “initial agreements”
with employees to resolve the dispute and production at the
plant continued on Thursday.
(Reporting By Yimou Lee;
Editing by Sandra Maler and Stephen Coates)