Watch: Violent protests erupt at COVID hit biggest iPhone factory in China

iphone factory china
Many workers at Apple’s biggest iPhone plant in China reportedly clashed with security personnel in a protest Wednesday amid growing anxieties over constraints planned to quell a COVID-19 outbreak.

More than 100 workers at the Foxconn plant were seen leaving their dormitories and pushing past outnumbered guards in videos sent by eyewitnesses to Bloomberg.

One clip showed several individuals wearing what appeared to be white hazmat suits striking a man on the ground with sticks, while another showed people charging through barriers as onlookers chanted, “fight, fight!”

Foxconn employs about 200,000 people and is Apple’s biggest iPhone maker, producing about 70% of iPhone shipments globally.

A witness said that the protest flared overnight over unpaid wages and fear of an infectious outburst at the plant. Several workers were injured in the melee before riot police restored order. The videos, which were broadcast live on the Kuaishou short video platform, couldn’t immediately be verified by CNET.

 

The violence underscores the growing tension at the Zhengzhou plant since the latest lockdown began in October. Many workers have fled the plant recently over frustrations about handling the outbreak and insufficient food rations.

 

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Benjamin is an all-around geek who loves learning new stuff every day. With a background in computer science and a passion for web-based technologies and gadgets and focus on writing about Web Trends, Smartphones, and Tablets.