Riot Suspends iPhone, iPad Production

by Nate Wooley | September 24, 2012 10:22 am

Foxconn — the Taiwan-based manufacturer that assembles Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL[1]) iPhones and iPads, as well as products for Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT[2]) and Hewlett-Packard (NYSE:HPQ[3]) — had a riot at its factory in northern China overnight.

The plant, which employs almost 80,000 and is located in Taiyuan in the northern province of Shanxi, is shut down indefinitely[4] after more than 2,000 people were involved in the altercation in one of the privately managed dormitories, Bloomberg reports.

The fight, which lasted for several hours, broke windows and left dozens injured, occurred overnight and required a paramilitary response to control. Conflicting reports indicate that the trouble began over a personal dispute between two employees. Twitter messages from inside the plant, however, place the blame on rough treatment of the workers by security guards. Other reports claim that groups of workers from different provinces led the conflict.

The plant had seen trouble earlier this year. In early 2012, workers went on strike after management failed to deliver a pay increase. The company also has come under criticism recently for living conditions in the dorm.

More than 5,000 police were brought in[5] for the most recent trouble, Reuters reports.

“A personal dispute between several employees escalated into an incident involving some 2,000 workers at approximately 11pm last night in a privately-managed dormitory,” Foxconn said in a statement.

It is unknown how long work will be stopped at the plant. Early reports say it could be several days.

Source URL: https://investorplace.com/2012/09/riot-suspends-iphone-ipad-production/

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