Apple has placed its contract manufacturing partner Wistron on probation and won’t give the Taiwanese firm any new business until it took “complete corrective actions” following lapses at its southern India plant.
The iPhone maker said on Saturday that its employees and independent auditors hired by the company to investigate the issues at Wistron’s Narasapura facility found that Apple’s ‘Supplier Code of Conduct’ was violated at the facility and Wistron failed to implement proper working hour management processes. This led to “payment delays for some workers in October and November,” Apple said, citing preliminary findings.
“As always, our focus is on making sure everyone in our supply chain is protected and treated with dignity and respect. We are very disappointed and taking immediate steps to address these issues. Wistron has taken disciplinary action and is restructuring their recruitment and payroll teams in Narasapura,” Apple said in a statement. “Apple employees, along with independent auditors, will monitor their progress.”
Thousands of workers rioted over unpaid salaries — of about $200 a month — on December 12 at Wistron’s Narasapura facility — situated about 40 miles outside of the tech hub Bangalore — destroying property, iPhones, and factory equipments. Wistron, a key manufacturing partner for Apple in India, has this year more than quadrupled workers and ramped up its production capacity in the South Asian nation.
In a statement earlier today, Wistron acknowledged that some workers at its plant had not been paid properly. It also announced it was removing a top executive who oversaw Taiwanese firm’s India business. “Some of the processes we put in place to manage labor agencies and payments need to be strengthened and upgraded,” it said.
Wistron assembles older iPhone models at its Indian facility. In recent years, Apple has broadened its partnership with others — including Foxconn — to expand the iPhone production capacity in India. Earlier this year, Foxconn had started to assemble the iPhone 11 models in India.
More to follow…
