Foxconn to restart Indian factory after protest: TN govt

Foxconn Technology Group will restart production at its factory in southern India after its temporary workers, mostly women, staged a protest over conditions at the company’s living quarters and food quality, according to the local state government.

Foxconn, the main assembler of Apple Inc.’s iPhones, has agreed to all demands made by the employees and will resume production soon, the Tamil Nadu government said in a statement dated Dec. 25. It promised to improve the working and living conditions of the temporary workers, such as by expanding their living areas, upgrading bathing facilities and providing drinking water, according to the statement.

The Taiwanese electronics giant also agreed to expand the factory, located near the state’s capital city of Chennai, and hire more workers.

Temporary workers at the Chennai plant staged a protest on Dec. 18, following cases of food poisoning at the factory that led to hospitalizations, The Hindu newspaper reported. The Foxconn factory would be shut till Dec. 26, according to another report in the newspaper.

Foxconn didn’t respond immediately to a request for comment outside office hours. Bloomberg