A Foxconn plant that reportedly makes components for the iPhone 5 is idle today after a worker riot that involved two thousand people and sent 40 individuals to the hospital. Foxconn, the Taiwanese company that manufactures iPhones and iPads in China, said the riot started when a “personal dispute between several employees escalated into an incident involving some 2,000 workers.” But several news organizations reporting from China are saying that the catalyst was an assault made on a worker by a security guard.
It is still not completely clear what is manufactured at the Taiyaun plant, but one Chinese newspaper reported last month that the plant makes as many as 3,000 iPhone covers each night. According to engadget, the plant has sustained significant damage as a result of the riots. Workers at this same factory, which is said to force its employees to work overtime, went on strike about six months ago.
Foxconn employs about a million people in China. Many of them live in dormitories on the company’s campuses. The company has a history of unsafe working conditions and long hours, and agreed earlier this year to bring its factories into compliance with Chinese labor laws as well as the standards of the international Fair Labor Association by July 2013.
According to IHS iSuppli, Foxconn made 62% of the tablets shipped worldwide last year. The company counts many major U.S. device makers among its customers, including Apple, Dell, Nokia, Amazon, HP and Motorola.
Update: The Taiyuan plant is open again as of Tuesday.
Photo: courtesy of Reuters
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