More than 20,000 employees leave the Foxconn iPhone plant

The Foxconn iPhone plant in China witnessed a mass walkout of nearly 20,000 employees after protests. More than 20,000 employees, including new hires, reportedly left the manufacturer a day after violent protests broke out at Foxconn's Zhengzhou plant in China. The workers expressed discontent with the working conditions, which later turned into protests in recent days.

In an attempt to quell the protests, Foxconn offered to pay the newly hired workers 10,000 yuan ($1,400) to leave the facility. In a message to employees, seen by CNN, the company urged workers to return to their dormitories. Foxconn also promised to pay 8,000 yuan if they agreed to leave Foxconn and another 2,000 yuan once they boarded the bus to leave the facility.

Now a Reuters report claims that employees left the facility. Most of the employees who left the manufacturer were new employees and had not started working on the production line. The mass exodus of employees may greatly affect iPhone production. Previously, the lockdown due to a spike in COVID cases had affected iPhone production.

Foxconn apologized for the wage-related issues that had led to the protests. Foxconn said in an official statement, "Our team has been looking into the matter and discovered a technical error occurred during the onboarding process."

"We apologize for an input error in the computer system and guarantee that the actual pay is the same as agreed and the official recruitment posters," the Apple supplier added.

Apple had previously confirmed facing massive delays in iPhone 14 model shipment. The company said that the "COVID-19 restrictions have temporarily impacted the primary iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max assembly facility located in Zhengzhou, China." "The facility is currently operating at significantly reduced capacity. As we have done throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, we are prioritizing the health and safety of the workers in our supply chain."