Workers ransack Witron’s Kolar plant, loot and ransack property worth over Rs400 cr
23 Dec 2020
A mob claiming to be workers of Apple iPhone manufacturer Wistron on Saturday ransacked the company’s plant in Kolar, and looted thousands of iPhones from the assembly plant, causing loss of an estimated Rs437 crore, reports said.
In a complaint filed with the police, the company said the losses are primarily due to the theft of thousands of iPhones from the unit during the two-hour violence and damage caused to the assembly line and factory equipment.
The company in its complaint has alleged that many new mobile phone units, laptops and monitors are missing from the plant.
Police have detained over 150 people have been detained by the police following the incident during which the workers hurled stones, broke glass windows and doors, overturned and set fire to vehicles with the video footage of the violence going viral on social media.
Videos made by employees inside the factory showed men breaking security cameras, windows and other equipment with rods and sticks.
Apple demanded that its suppliers provide safe working conditions, treat employees with dignity and respect, fairly and ethically and that it was dispatching additional staff and auditors to the facility.
"Our teams are in close touch with the local authorities and we're offering our full support to their investigation," the company said in a statement.
Wistron said it was "deeply shocked" by the violence, which it blamed on "unknown persons ... with unclear intentions".
"The company always abides by the law, and fully supports and is cooperating with relevant authorities and police investigations," Wistron said in a statement to the Taiwan Stock Exchange.
Karnataka labour minister Shivaram Hebbar condemned the violence and said the damages perpetrated on the company were unacceptable.
Hebbar said Wistron had contracted six subsidiary companies to hire 8,900 people for its Kolar unit and that there was an ongoing dispute between Wistron and the contract labourers.
“The incident at the Wistron plant is unfortunate and unacceptable. The government is committed to conducting a full and fair investigation into the incident and punishing the wrongdoers," he added.
Deputy chief minister and in-charge for IT department CN Ashwath Narayan too condemned the violence and said, strict action will be taken against those who are responsible for the violence and those who caused damage to the properties.
The investigation process has begun to know the actual cause which prompted this situation, he said, adding the inquiry would also look into complaints related to the salary for the workers and cuts in payment.
Besides Apple iPhone, Wistron also manufactures IT products for Lenovo and Microsoft among others.