Apple has issued a notice to supplier Foxconn’s India plant following protests

December 29 (Reuters) – Apple (AAPL.O) Its iPhone assembler is said to have Foxconn (2317.TW) Plant in South India after both companies discovered that some remote accommodation and dining rooms used for staff did not meet the required standards.

Apple did not elaborate on what was being tested. When another supplier, Wistron Corp, set up a South Indian plant (3231.TW), In qualifying after last year’s unrest, it said it would not award the Taiwanese company new business until it specified the way workers would be treated.

The latest move comes after protests erupted earlier this month demanding treatment for food for more than 250 women working at a Foxconn factory in Sriperumbudur, near the southern city of Chennai, and living in a hostel. Poison.

The plant, which employs about 17,000 people, closed on December 18. Apple and Foxconn did not expect it to reopen.

A Foxconn spokesman said Wednesday that it was restructuring its local management team to take immediate steps to improve facilities and that all staff would continue to be paid while making the necessary improvements to restart operations.

The factory had more than 150 employees Hospitalized due to food poisoning, Reuters reported on December 18.

An Apple spokesman said on Wednesday that Foxconn had sent independent auditors to assess the condition of the shelters “following recent concerns over food safety and shelter conditions in Sriperumbudur.”

Apple said some of the remote accommodation and dining rooms used for staff did not meet its requirements and would work with the supplier to ensure comprehensive repair work. Met before the facility reopened.

Earlier this week, Reuters reported that Foxconn and its 11 contractors, including providers of food and living facilities, had been invited for a meeting with the state government. Asked Foxconn to reconsider the services Power backup in hostels will be provided to workers including food and water.

Analysts say the impact on Apple will be lessened as the plant, which will make iPhone 12 models and begin test production of the iPhone 13, closes. But amid trade tensions between Washington and Beijing, the factory has long been strategic as it seeks to reduce Apple’s reliance on China’s supply chain.

Report by Sayantani Ghosh, Sudarshan Varathan in Chennai, Chandini Monappa in Bangalore, Don Similevsk in Los Angeles and Stephen Nellis in San Francisco; Editing Christian Schmolinger, Kenneth Maxwell and Raju Gopalakrishnan

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