Foxconn workers seen fleeing Chinese iPhone plant's COVID restrictions

富士康員工被看到逃離中國 iPhone 工廠的 COVID 限制

Waves of workers flee massive Zhengzhou iPhone complex after closed-loop system announced


TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Videos surfaced over the weekend showing scores of workers leaving Apple's massive Zhengzhou plant reportedly discontented with a strict lockdown spurred by China's zero-COVID restrictions.

On Saturday (Oct. 29), multiple videos appeared on Chinese social media platforms Douyin and WeChat showed throngs of workers from a cluster of iPhone assembly plants in Zhengzhou run and jump over Taiwan's Foxconn factory fence. They fled through fields by day and on the sides of roads by night.

The impetus for the exodus is a new COVID outbreak at the complex. To comply with China's zero-COVID policy requires the facilities to enter a closed-loop system announced on Oct. 28 that was to last 10 days, reported Yicai.

Under the closed-loop system, workers are confined to company grounds, in some cases sleeping on the factory floor, in order to keep production running. The Foxconn facility, which has about 300,000 workers, has banned dining in canteens and workers have been told to eat in their dorms. However, there have been complaints about the limited food items provided, mainly consisting of bread and milk.

The facility first announced tightened epidemic prevention measures on Oct. 18 and on Oct. 19, imposing a ban on dining outside of their quarters. On Oct. 21, the park urged workers to "drink traditional Chinese medicine to enhance physical fitness, and promptly report symptoms."

The campus on Oct. 24 issued a notice announcing 24-hour care and 24-hour psychological counseling hotlines. On Oct. 26, Foxconn announced that in order to relieve the pressure on medical staff in the park, it would enable workers to have online consultations with doctors to prescribe medication to treat fevers.

In the Foxconn Zhengzhou Science and Technology Park notice sent Oct. 28 employees were told they would be moved to quarantine facilities in an "epidemic prevention safety bubble" in the Zhengzhou Xinzheng Comprehensive Protective Tariff Zone. Foxconn said that it would provide "point-to-point" transportation for workers between their quarantine quarters and factories.

In addition, the company said that in accordance with government regulations on closed-loop management systems, if workers wish to resign or leave the closed-loop and return to their hometown, they must first go to a centralized government quarantine center for seven days and get a medical health certificate. The company said that it "absolutely respects the personal wishes of employees" and called on each business group to handle standard resignation procedures for employees in accordance with the regulations.

On Sunday, the Foxconn Zhengzhou Science and Technology Park issued an announcement in which it acknowledged that the facility is engaged in a "protracted battle" with the virus. It emphasized that "taking care of employees is the first principle of the group's operation" and that it will make every effort to ensure the safety and welfare of workers in compliance with epidemic prevention and industrial safety standards.

As the massive campus is the main production base for Apple's iPhone 14, analysts are concerned that production and shipment of the device may be affected by the outbreak. Shares of Foxconn on the Taiwan Stock Exchange as Hon Hai Technology Group, dropped by as much as 2.4% in early trading on Monday over these fears.