iPhone maker Wistron Corp’s factory at Narsapura, in the outskirts of Bengaluru, came under attack from disgruntled employees in the early hours of Saturday, December 12. According to reports, close to 2,000 employees working at Wistron Corp‘s iPhone manufacturing plant were leaving from the facilities after finishing their night shift. While leaving, the employees turned into an enraged mob and went about destroying furniture at the company premises, including the offices of Wistron Corp’s senior management. Some even attempted to set vehicles on fire or upturn them, while others even tried to damage phone assembly lines.
Police officials reportedly rushed to the spot to bring the situation under control, said a report by The Times of India Bengaluru. No reports of physical injuries to any company personnel, accidental or otherwise, have been reported so far. Wistron Corp has not issued a statement on the matter as of now. While videos of the violence at the alleged Wistron facility flooded the internet, News18 could not verify the authenticity of these videos.
According to the report, the violence rose out of employees being disgruntled about the payment of salaries by Wistron Corp. According to one of the allegations, Wistron Corp reportedly hired engineering graduates for its plant at a promised sum of Rs 21,000 per month, which was subsequently reduced to Rs 16,000 per month, and of late, to Rs 12,000. For non-engineering graduates, this sum went down to Rs 8,000. Other allegations stated that there were no consistencies in the payment of salaries made by the company, and some even claimed that they received as low as Rs 500 per month. Wistron’s Narsapura plant was built after the company promised employment to 10,000 individuals and invest Rs 2,900 crore in the factory.
The violence at the Wistron facility may not be a one-off incident, and company responses and subsequent actions are bound to follow in the days to come. Manufacturing smartphones in India have been under the government spotlight recently, as the central government aims to push for turning India into a manufacturing hub in the near future. It remains to be seen if the state government decides to interfere on the matter as well.