New Delhi: Apple supplier Foxconn Technology Group on Wednesday said it is restructuring its local management team, after the recent mass food-poisoning incident at Sriperumbudur factory's offsite dormitory facility.
An Apple spokesperson said Foxconn's Sriperumbudur facility had been placed on probation. In a statement on Wednesday, Foxconn said that all employees will continue to be paid while necessary improvements are undertaken before restarting operations. Foxconn said it will continue to provide support for staff as they return to work.
"We are also restructuring our local management team and our management systems to ensure we can achieve and maintain the high standards that are needed," statement by Foxconn Technology Group said.
Meanwhile, an Apple spokesperson said that Foxconn's Sriperumbudur facility has been placed on probation and that the company will ensure strict standards are met before the facility reopens. "We will continue to monitor conditions closely," Apple spokesperson said in an email.
Last week, protests erupted after more than 250 women who worked at the plant and lived in one of its hostels had to be treated for food poisoning. Some of the protesters were rounded up by the police but later released.
The incident has thrown a spotlight on living conditions for the workers – most of them women – who reside in hostels near the factory which is located in the southern city of Chennai.
The closure of the plant which made iPhone 12 models has hit Apple. The disruption comes as the company is dealing with COVID-19 pandemic-related supply chain bottlenecks that have hit its production. In October, the company warned that the effect of these supply chain problems would worsen during the holiday quarter.
The unrest at Foxconn is the second such incident involving an Apple supplier factory in India in a year. In December 2020, thousands of contract workers at a factory owned by Wistron Corp destroyed equipment and vehicles over the alleged non-payment of wages, causing damages estimated at $60 million.
With Agency input
