Thousands of iPhones stolen, Apple’s facility vandalized in Karnataka, loss worth ₹437 cr

Two days after violence broke out at an iPhone manufacturing facility near Bengaluru over alleged irregularities in payment of salaries, technology company Apple Inc on Monday said it was investigating if its Taiwanese contractor Wistron flouted supplier guidelines, Reuters reported.

“Our teams are in close touch with the local authorities and we are offering our full support to their investigation,” the company said in a statement.

Unidentified factory workers trashed the facility on the outskirts of Bengaluru over the weekend as employees demanded unpaid wages and better working hours, trade union representatives said.

Videos made by employees inside the factory showed men breaking security cameras, windows and other equipment with rods and sticks.

In its complaint at the Vemagal police station, company executive T D Prashanth has stated that office equipment, mobile phones, production machinery and related equipment worth ₹412.5 crore was lost.

Infrastructure worth ₹10 crore, ₹60 lakh worth cars and golf carts, smartphones and other gadgets worth ₹1.5 crore were among those which suffered the damage, stolen or lost.

He stated in his complaint that 5,000 contract labourers and about 2,000 unknown culprits carried out the vandalism in the factory facility.

The police have so far arrested 149 people and detained a few others.

Industries minister Jagadish Shettar said the violence was, perhaps, fuelled by miscommunication between Wistron, the contractors and the employees. “What we hear is that the company had made payments to the labour contractors, who delayed payments to the employees. This is being verified,” he said.

Hebbar said the labour department has issued notices to Wistron, asking the firm to pay the dues in three days. “Employees must be paid salaries — whether it comes from Wistron or labour contractors,” he added.

Shettar said the Karnataka government’s chief secretary and principal secretary(industries) were talking to the parent firm in Taiwan. “We’ll make all efforts to allay fears of the industry and ensure the culprits are booked,” he said.