Bangalore:
Two days after violence broke out at a factory near Bengaluru that makes Apple’s iPhone, the US firm has said it is investigating whether its Taiwanese contractor Wistron Corp, which owns the factory, broke supplier guidelines.
“Apple is dedicated to ensuring that everyone in our supply chain is treated with dignity and respect. We have teams on the ground and immediately launched a detailed investigation at Wistron’s Narasapura facility in India,” a company source told NDTV. .
“We are also dispatching additional Apple team members and auditors to the facility. Our teams are in close contact with local authorities and we are offering our full support to their investigation,” the source said.
Violence erupted on Saturday at Wistron’s plant in Narsapura, near Bengaluru, after some employees, allegedly angered by wages, vandalized the facility’s premises.
According to a case brought by the police after the incident, the facility, located about 50 kilometers east of Bengaluru, in the Kolar district, suffered damages of around 400 million rupees. About 100 people were arrested in this regard, Reuters reported.
Wistron is one of Apple’s leading global suppliers. In India, it manufactures the iPhone 7 and second-generation iPhone SE devices. The factory employs some 15,000 workers, although most of them are hired through personnel firms, according to an AFP report citing local media.
In a statement, the company said it was “deeply shocked by the incident.”
“The accident was caused by unknown persons who broke in and caused damage to the plant with unclear intentions. The company always complies with the law, and fully supports and is cooperating with the relevant authorities and police investigations,” the company said in a disclosed to the Taipei Stock Exchange.
In his statement to AFP in Chinese, he “pledged to follow local labor (laws) and other related regulations” to resume operations as soon as possible.
Karnataka’s chief deputy minister, Dr. Ashwath Narayan, said that those who “took the law into their own hands” will be “treated very vigorously.”
“At the same time, any justice that has to be imposed on employees will also be addressed. The concern of both the employer and the employees will be effectively addressed,” Narayan told NDTV.
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