In China, strict COVID measures have led many workers at Apple’s biggest iPhone plant to give up their jobs.
It’s happening at Foxconn which makes most of the phones around the world.
Employees are trying to escape after an alleged COVID outbreak resulted in 200-thousand workers being forced into isolation- some without proper meals. Only workers on the production lines were given meal boxes. Those infected or afraid to leave their company-provided dormitories are given more basic fare like bread and instant noodles.
China’s zero-tolerance approach to the pandemic has idled factories and up-ended supply chains. Closed loops enable companies to stay operational during lockdowns but take a toll on workers, whose movements are severely limited, with some even required to sleep on factory floors. Tesla inc. Used a closed loop to resume output during Shanghai’s restive lockdown earlier this year.
At least six counties and cities asked residents who just left Foxconn to contact local authorities before going home. Workers will be sent to several days of mandatory isolation.