To avoid increasing discontent over staff and retain as many workers as possible to maintain iPhone assembly at a steady pace, Apple’s chief assembling giant, Foxconn, is said to have quadrupled bonuses. This decision comes at a time when stringent measures were observed to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. Several workers were said to have fled the assembling site over the weekend, stating that they were being unfairly treated.
Foxconn Is Raising Daily Bonuses to 400 Yuan From 100 Yuan, as It Believes the Decision Will Help Keep Sufficient Staff at the Assembling Plant
The official WeChat account of Foxconn’s Zhengzhou plant in China said that bonuses for employees who are a part of the assembling unit and responsible for making electronics have been raised to 400 yuan (around $55) a day from 100 yuan. Reuters reports that the majority of Apple’s iPhones are assembled at the Zhengzhou plant, where it employs about 200,000 people. The company has other smaller production sites in India and South China, though their production output is nowhere close to what the mega-site can churn on a daily basis.
According to one statistic, this plant produces around 70 percent of all iPhones shipped globally, so the facility holds significant value for Foxconn to the point where bonuses increased by 400 percent daily. Sadly, Foxconn had little choice but to follow the government’s instructions. Workers stationed at the plant were reportedly employed in miserable working conditions, according to one individual familiar with what was going on. That person also said that the COVID-19 lockdown caught the management by surprise, and they had to act accordingly.
One source, who provided information on the condition that the identity remained a secret, said that food and drinks were initially limited. A shortage of essential supplies created a sense of anxiety, but afterward, a shipment carrying food and water made its way into Foxconn’s facility, likely quelling the negative atmosphere of the workforce present at the time. Apple’s assembling partner has not released a statement on when these restrictions will be lifted and for how long these bonuses will last.
At least the workers who have to endure those restrictions will be compensated accordingly.
News Source: Reuters
