Foxconn has implemented strict containment procedures as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to rage.
For more than two years, the Chinese subcontractor has taken drastic decisions to prevent the virus from harming its activities, and the group’s employees can no longer take it.
An exodus of employees, after yet another strict confinement imposed by Foxconn
Over the weekend, Chinese social media was flooded with images and videos of hundreds of subcontractor workers fleeing one of the largest factories in Zhengzhou. It produces, among other things, the iPhone 14, Apple’s latest smartphone.
” It was total chaos in the dorms. We jumped a plastic fence and a metal fence to get out of campus “, declared one of the employees to our colleagues from the FinancialTimes. ” I will never go back to Foxconn. They have no humanity there “, added another employee who fled the factory in the night from Saturday to Sunday and who walked 200 km on the side of the highway with some of his colleagues.
According to various accounts, living conditions at the Foxconn factory in Zhengzhou deteriorated rapidly, with supplies of food and medicine rapidly running out.
The group works hand in hand with the Chinese government, without interrupting the work
Foxconn strictly applies the “zero COVID” guidelines developed by the Chinese government to stem the epidemic. Employees told reporters that the contractor’s management locked its employees in their dormitories after discovering cases of COVID-19 in the city.
Following the many images that quickly circulated on social networks, the authorities quickly set up buses to bring employees home and in centralized quarantine. Hundreds of others have also demanded a departure from the factory to their home provinces.
Faced with this crisis situation, Foxconn wanted to respond with a press release. The company does not comment on the statements of its employees and prefers to adopt a reassuring speech, perfectly aligned with that of the Chinese authorities. ” Caring for our employees is a fundamental principle of our company “, she notes, moreover. She also reminds us to take the necessary measures to stem the epidemic and continue production.
Foxconn adds, however, that employees who wish to return home will be able to do so through transport lines set up in conjunction with the government. The company specifies that its teams ” improve living and working conditions of all employees preferring to stay.
Foxconn employs many people from provinces that are sometimes very far from Zhengzhou, some of whom have no choice but to accept its conditions.
Source : FinancialTimes
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