Foxconn: Riot Will Not Affect iPhone 5 Supply

Hon Hai Precision subsidiary, Foxconn Technology has released a statement according to which the Taiyuan factory in China is now operational following a brawl ignited by disputes between workers and security guards.

Foxconn, a key Apple supplier, said the facility in question resumed operations yesterday, September 25, adding that production of the iPhone 5 has not been affected, since the plant doesn’t assemble iPhones.

However, according to a Foxconn employee speaking on condition of anonymity to Reuters, the factory does make iPhone parts.

Apple is already struggling to cope with immense demand for its latest iPhone, so any disturbance in the supply chain is likely to affect production (i.e. yield rates).

As far as the incident itself is concerned, Foxconn said there were no deaths, adding that the people who were indeed injured are now being attended to. The company is also investigating injuries outside its workforce.

The electronics giant has reportedly taken steps to strengthen security as well as to pacify subordinates. Foxconn is pushing to implement duties relating to employee welfare, as well as to “make over-time payments as promised.”

Foxconn is a primary supplier for Apple Inc., the Cupertino, California-based company selling iPhones, Macs, iPod players, and iPad tablets.

Most of these gadgets are imagined in Cupertino, but the actual manufacturing of the parts and the assembly process are all handled in China.

And most of these production processes are handled by one big company called Foxconn, whose reputation has been tarnished in the past few years due to numerous conflicts at its facilities.

There have also been a number of reported suicides at Foxconn’s factories, mostly caused by fatigue and isolation from the outside world (family, etc).

While Foxconn and Apple have both taken steps to ensure the work conditions are improved, it seems more effort will be necessary to appease the people who assemble the iPhones and iPads we rely on for making calls, surfing the web, and getting directions on the go.