Apple supplier Foxconn’s India plant said to be shut for 3 more days after week-long closure

The Foxconn plant, near India’s southern city of Chennai, extends a week-long closure following worker’s protests sparked by a food poisoning incident

Apple, according to recent media reports, has started trial production of its latest flagship device, the iPhone 13, at the factory

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Foxconn Technology Group’s plant in India makes iPhone 12 models. Apple, according to recent media reports, has started trial production of its latest flagship device, the iPhone 13, at the factory. Photo: Bloomberg

Published: 2:54pm, 27 Dec 2021Updated: 3:59pm, 27 Dec 2021

Apple supplier Foxconn Technology Group’s plant near the southern city of Chennai in India will stay shut for three more days, a senior government official said, extending a week-long closure following workers’ protests sparked by a food poisoning incident.

The factory, which employs some 17,000 people, had been due to resume some operations, but is now expected to restart production with 1,000 workers on Thursday, a senior official for the state of Tamil Nadu told Reuters, adding that the state government had conducted inspections of workers’ hostels.

Last week, protests erupted after more than 250 women who work at the plant and live in one of the 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 live in hostels near the factory.

Men ride their motorbikes past a closed plant of Foxconn Technology Group’s India unit, which makes iPhones for Apple, near the southern city of Chennai on December 21, 2021. Photo: Reuters

Foxconn, formally known as Hon Hai Precision Industry, as well as 11 of its contractors, including those who provide food and living facilities, were summoned for a meeting, according to the Tamil Nadu official, who was not authorised to speak on the matter and declined to be identified.

The state government asked Foxconn, the world’s largest contract electronics manufacturer and Apple’s primary iPhone supplier, to review services provided to the workers including power backup at the hostels, food and water, the official said. The Directorate Of Industrial Safety And Health also recommended providing recreational facilities such as a television, a library and indoor games.