Industrial action has disrupted Apple iPhone 5 production at a Foxconn factory in China, according to reports.
According to reports from CNN and Chinese news agency Xinhua, the unrest was caused by Apple imposing “impossibly strict” quality control standards on the iPhone 5, following consumer complaints over “aesthetic flaws” in the devices.
According to an unnamed local government official, more than 100 quality control inspectors refused to go to work at 7am on Friday after one of the inspectors was allegedly assaulted by a production line employee, who was reportedly upset about the stricter quality control standards.
Production at the plant is said to have resumed an hour after the initial disruption.
FoxConn management’s recent refusal to grant staff leave during Golden Week (China’s biannual week-long holiday period) is believed to have added to the tensions.
For its part, FoxConn claims the disruptions did not amount to a strike, but have acknowledged industrial unrest at the factory last week.
Andrew Sadauskas is a former journalist at SmartCompany and a former editor of TechCompany.
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