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Neon Tommy - Annenberg digital news

Foxconn Reopens China Factory After Riot

Jerome Campbell |
September 25, 2012 | 12:45 a.m. PDT

Executive Producer

Foxconn employees rioted at a Chinese factor due to a personal dispute, the company said (Photosource/Twitter)
Foxconn employees rioted at a Chinese factor due to a personal dispute, the company said (Photosource/Twitter)
Foxconn reopened factories Tuesday after 2,000 workers rioted. Supplies were not damaged. 

Riots began Monday when Reuters reported a personal dispute erupted into a brawl, involving 2,000 people. Some employees accuse the security guards of provoking violence by beating up some of the workers.

State-run news media said 5,000 police officers had been called in to quell factory workers, who totalled 79,000, reported The New York Times.

Nearly 40 people were been injured and hospitalized after a “personal dispute” got out of hand, according to the BBC.

A Foxconn statement to Nextweb

Foxconn can confirm that a personal dispute between several employees escalated into an incident involving some 2,000 workers at approximately 11 pm last night in a privately-managed dormitory near our manufacturing facility in Taiyuan in Shanxi province. The dispute was brought under control by local police at approximately 3 am this morning. According to police, some 40 individuals were taken to the hospital for medical attention and a number of individuals were arrested. The cause of this dispute is under investigation by local authorities and we are working closely with them in this process, but it appears not to have been work-related. The Taiyuan facility employs 79,000 people and manufactures automobile electronic components, consumer electronic components and precision moldings.

Some news sources have reported that 10 or more employees died during the riots but Foxconn released a statement Monday morning denying any deaths, according to Wired.com
Foxconn told Bloomberg that they don't expect the one-day closure to set back production because the factory creates components. They said that they could make up any shortfall with overtime. 
Social media responses on Chinese websites displayed some of the first images of the riots. Engadget monitored two Chinese websites and tracked coverage, and later censorship, of images.
Another riot in June 2012 involved 1,000 employees upset over a disagreement with management, reported CNN.
Read more Neon Tommy coverage on Foxconn here.
Reach Executive Producer Jerome Campbell here.


 

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