Apple iPhone factory workers clash with police in China

The world's largest iPhone factory in central China has been the scene of violent worker protests as authorities try to contain a COVID-19 outbreak while maintaining production.

Workers at the factory in Zhengzhou shared more than a dozen videos that show staff in a standoff with police armed with batons. Some workers are bleeding from their heads and others are limping away from the chaos in the videos.

Beijing's strict zero-COVID regime has posed big challenges for the running of the Zhengzhou plant, which typically employs more than 200,000 workers on a large campus in the city's suburbs.

More than 95 percent of Apple's iPhones are made in China, heightening investor concerns about supply chain risk.

Problems at the plant led to Apple cutting estimates for high-end iPhone 14 shipments and issuing a rare warning to investors.

Two workers at the Foxconn factory said the protests broke out on Wednesday morning after Apple's manufacturing partner tried to deny bonuses promised to new workers.

One of the workers said that the executives didn't show their faces and called the police when they went into the plant to seek an explanation.

There was growing discontent over the factory's inability to curb a COVID outbreak, tough living conditions, and fear among staff that they would test positive, according to another worker.

The company said it would work with employees and the government to stop more violence.

The company said in a statement that it had fulfilled its contracts and would communicate that to new staff. There were reports that the company mixed positive workers with those who weren't already sick.

Workers bashing a COVID testing booth and charging into the factory's offices are shown in videos. Groups of workers milling about in a courtyard between buildings were shown on live streams. Workers were broadcasting the protests on social media until they were stopped by censors.

China's leaders are concerned about the situation because it challenges the narrative of being a reliable supplier, according to a researcher.

After a mass staff exodus late last month spurred by conditions at the plant, Foxconn has been working with the local government to find new workers.

The plant is a big taxpayer and was responsible for 60 percent of the province's exports in 2019.

According to an analyst at Counterpoint Research, the Zhengzhou factory has already been shifting production away from it. The Zhengzhou plant had 80 percent of the total production of the phone before the outbreak.

Requests for comment were not responded to by Apple.

The Financial Times All rights belong to the person. redistribute by email or post to the web, please don't copy and paste.