The controversy-ridden Apple contract manufacturer Wistron, whose plant in Narasapur near Bengaluru was closed following violence unleashed by its workers on the night of December 12 over non-payment of salaries, is still unable to resolve the impasse.
According to a report in the Economic Times, while investigations are still pending against the agitating workers, Wistron has been unable to hire fresh staff. In the event, the unit which was expected to re-open in January is now faced with a longer closure.
“It will take much longer than January because multiple parties are being investigated along with hundreds of workers, which means they are not getting back to work so soon,” a senior industry official was quoted as saying by the Economic Times.
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Wistron caught in a bind
The Wistron plant is closed despite the helping hand lent by both the Indian government and the local Karnataka government to improve the situation. Both the governments, which understand that the violence at Wistron had got the country bad press in the eyes of international investors, are going the extra mile to make it easy for Wistron.
But it is now clear that since Wistron had bungled a lot and transgressed a few labour laws, the reopening of the plant may take some more time.
Apple, having found lapses in the payment of worker salaries, has also suspended all new business to Wistron India until it rectifies the faults.
Apple had plans to assemble its latest iPhone 12 Mini at Wistron's Narasapura plant, which was assembling the iPhone 7 and SE models.
Wistron has another plant in Peenya in Karnataka.
Pegatron under focus
With the production work in Wistron held up, all eyes are on Pegatron, another Taiwan-based Apple assembler, who is setting up a plant at a cost of Rs 11,000 crore near Chennai.
Now it is expected that Apple may pass on some of the contract work on the bounce to Pegatron, which is the second-largest manufacturer of Apple products.
Pegatron is getting up at its new plant in India under the government's much-touted productivity-linked incentive (PLI) scheme.
Pegatron is also said to be looking for another plot of land in Tamil Nadu or Andhra Pradesh to set up its second Indian factory.
Via: Economic Times
