Apple Inc.’s supplier in India quadrupled workers in about eight months, ramping up production just as the world’s most valuable company began direct online sales in the South Asia nation. The only hitch: Wistron Corp.’s systems weren’t robust enough to handle the deluge. The number of workers at the Taiwanese company, the first Apple supplier to produce iPhones in India, surged to about 9,000 in November from some 2,000 just before the pandemic, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Wistron hired the contractual workers from six manpower companies, the people said, asking not to be identified because the matter was private. A representative for Wistron declined to comment.
Riot-Hit Apple Supplier Hired More Than It Could Handle in India
Bloomberg 12/18/2020 Anto Antony and Shruti Srivastava
(Bloomberg) Apple Inc.’s supplier in India quadrupled workers in about eight months, ramping up production just as the world’s most valuable company began direct online sales in the South Asia nation. The only hitch: Wistron Corp.’s systems weren’t robust enough to handle the deluge.
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The number of workers at the Taiwanese company, the first Apple supplier to produce iPhones in India, surged to about 9,000 in November from some 2,000 just before the pandemic, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Wistron hired the contractual workers from six manpower companies, the people said, asking not to be identified because the matter was private. A representative for Wistron declined to comment.
December 18, 2020
Policemen stand guard outside a facility run by Wistron Corp, a Taiwanese contract manufacturer for Apple, in Narsapura near the southern city of Bengaluru, India, on December 14, 2020.
Reuters
Serious violations of labour laws were taking place at the iPhone manufacturing facility in India where a workers’ protest on Saturday turned violent and caused US$7 million (S$9 million) worth of damage, a report by the Karnataka state government has found.
Exploitative practices such as underpayment of wages, irregular hours and poor working conditions were common at the Wistron Corporation assembling and manufacturing unit in the southern Indian state of Karnataka, as detailed by its Department of Factories, Boilers, Industrial Safety and Health.
A prominent Indian trade union has spoken out against the Indian government for its lack of action against iPhone assembly partner Wistron after a violent riot broke out following a protest.
On December 12, nearly all 2,000 employees at Wistron s Narasapura production plant took part in a violent riot against the company. Acts included damaging furniture and assembly units, smashing glass windows of executive offices, and setting fire to vehicles at the location.
According to
Reuters, hundreds of the workers have been arrested or detained by police. India s Karnataka government went on record to condemn the violence, vowing to take the strictest action against the wrongdoers.
A prominent Indian trade union has spoken out against the Indian government for its lack of action against iPhone assembly partner Wistron after a violent riot broke out following a protest.
On December 12, nearly all 2,000 employees at Wistron s Narasapura production plant took part in a violent riot against the company. Acts included damaging furniture and assembly units, smashing glass windows of executive offices, and setting fire to vehicles at the location.
According to
Reuters, hundreds of the workers have been arrested or detained by police. India s Karnataka government went on record to condemn the violence, vowing to take the strictest action against the wrongdoers.