Contract manufacturer Apple Wistron, whose factory in Narasapur near Bengaluru was closed after violence unleashed by its workers on the night of December 12 over non-payment of wages, is still unable to resolve the impasse. According to an Economic Times report, while investigations against the agitated workers are still ongoing, Wistron has been unable to recruit new staff. In this case, the unit that was supposed to reopen in January now faces a longer closure. "It will take much longer than in January because various parties are under investigation with hundreds of workers, which means they won't be back to work so soon," a senior official said. industry cited by Economic Times.
Wistron stuck in a dead end
The Wistron factory is closed despite the help given by the Indian government and the Karnataka local government to improve the situation. Understanding that the violence at Wistron has brought bad press about the country in the eyes of international investors, both governments are making an extra effort to make Wistron's job easier. But now it is clear that since Wistron has made a lot of mistakes and violated some labor laws, it may take a little longer for the factory to reopen. Apple, after finding defaults in paying workers' wages, has also suspended all new business at Wistron India until it fixes the flaws. Apple had intended to assemble its latest iPhone 12 Mini at the Narasapura factory in Wistron, which assembled the iPhone 7 and SE models. Wistron has another factory at Peenya in Karnataka.
Pegatron in the spotlight
With production work suspended at Wistron, all eyes are on Pegatron, another Taiwan-based Apple assembler, which is setting up a Rs 11,000 crore factory near Chennai. Now, Apple is expected to transfer some of the contractual work on the rebound to Pegatron, which is the second-biggest maker of Apple products. Pegatron is moving into its new factory in India under the government's much-vaunted Productivity Incentive Program (PLI). Pegatron is also said to be looking for another piece of land in Tamil Nadu or Andhra Pradesh to set up its second Indian factory. Via: Economic Times