Sudarshan Varadahan

CHENNAI (Reuters] – The closure of the Foxconn iPhone plant in India, which is the subject of a major food-poisoning scandal, will continue for a further week according to a Tamil Nadu official.

Factory, with 17,000 employees, was due to resume operations Monday. However, production will now be restarted by 1,000 workers on Thursday. The official added that inspections had been conducted by the state government at workers’ hostels.

After more than 250 female workers in the plant were treated for food poisoning, demonstrations broke out. The police arrested some of the protestors and released them later.

This incident brought to light the living conditions of the workers, most of whom are women. They live in hostels close to the factory in Chennai’s southern suburb.

According to the official, the meeting was called for the Taiwanese contract maker for Apple Inc (NASDAQ;) as well as other tech companies such as Apple Inc (NASDAQ.:), and 11 of its subcontractors including those providing food and housing. According to the official, the subject matter was confidential and he declined to identify himself.

Foxconn was contacted by the state government to examine the service provided to the workers. This included power back up at the hostels as well as food and water. However, the Directorate Of Industrial Safety And Health suggested that the facility be made available for recreational purposes such a TV and a library.

Foxconn, according to another government source, told state bureaucrats they had “ramped-up production too quickly”. They would ensure workers have the facilities upgraded gradually before going back to full capacity.

Foxconn Representatives and Apple Representatives were not available immediately for comment.

Although some vehicles made their way in and out of the factory on Monday morning, it was mostly empty.

Analysts have indicated that Apple will likely experience minimal impact due to the closing of the plant which manufactures iPhone 12 models. It has also begun production trials of iPhone 13. The factory’s strategic importance is long-term as Apple seeks to reduce its dependence on China’s supply chains amid tensions in trade between Washington and Beijing.

Apple has been dealing with supply chain issues that are pandemic related, which have caused disruptions in production. The company had warned in October that these supply-chain problems could have a worse effect on the holiday quarter.

Foxconn was the site of another unrest involving India’s Apple suppliers factory. Wistron Corp owned a plant that employed thousands of contract workers. The dispute over wages allegedly caused equipment and vehicle damage of $60 million.

Cupertino, California-headquartered Apple has bet big on India since it began iPhone assembly in the country in 2017. Over five years, Foxconn and Wistron along with another supplier, Pegatron have collectively committed approximately $900 million to produce iPhones in India.