The west gate of Foxconn (Zhengzhou) Technology and Industry Park 

BEIJING, October 30 (TMTPOST) -- Foxconn, the leading supplier for Apple, announced Sunday that it will ensure the safety and health of over 200,000 employees in an industrial park in central China, after videos showing its workers trekking in the wheat field or on empty highways after flocking out of the plant went viral on social media on Saturday night. 

The massive Foxconn plant in Zhengzhou Airport Industrial Park has been under “silence management” since October 13. Many residential compounds near the Foxconn plant were locked down. Foxconn has three plants in Zhengzhou, the capital city of Henan province, and the other two are located in the Economic and Technological Development Zone Park and Zhongmou County Park.

“We are fully aware that looking after over 200,000 employees and ensuring their safety is ‘protracted warfare’,” said a note sent to TMTPost. “We’ve noticed the concerns over Foxconn and ask for understanding and support.”

The company said that looking after its staff is its paramount principle. “Under the guidance of the government, the Zhengzhou plant has continued to implement pandemic control measures, including closed-loop management, point-to-point commute, daily Covid tests, three free meals a day, 24-hour health hotline and volunteer services. We will continue to update employees with pandemic-related information,” said the announcement.   

Foxconn pledged to make its utmost efforts to provide employees with food, drugs and other necessities. “Currently there is no shortage of supplies,” stressed the announcement. 

As the pandemic in the city is subsiding, the government has allowed to eat in the canteen, instead of in the dorms, according to the announcement. The plant has arranged vehicles to transport factory workers who wish to return to their home and the point-to-point transportation will start on October 30.

The Zhengzhou Park is gradually “under the control”, with its cooperation with the government in terms of pandemic control. The company will also coordinate with other parks to minimize the impact of the incident, according to the announcement.     

The Journey Home

On the night of Saturday, Wechat’s video channel was swamped with images showing young guys and girls walking in the wheat field in the day, with plastic bags or luggage in their hands. In other videos, young people walked on the deserted streets on a rainy night, with Taiwan singer Zheng Zhihua’s song “Starry, Starry Night” as the background music. “Stars shine over the gate of my home. Let the lost boy find the path to hometown…”  as the lyrics go.

Foxconn workers-themed videos also appeared on other social media platforms, drawing more attention from Chinese viewers than the fatal stampede in Seoul, South Korea, happening on the same night. Articles on social media said that the images of workers in the wheat field was not staged to lure attention. “They had to go across the wheat field because the road was blocked as part of pandemic-control efforts,” said one article.

Some videos showed that villagers prepared bottled water, instant noodles and bread for the workers. “We are here to help them because they just want to go home,” an unnamed villager said.

In a video, a red heavy-duty truck carried dozens of Foxconn workers in the truck bed. “The driver is highly likely to be fined because a truck is not allowed to carry people. But they apparently do not care,” a comment under the video says. 

Most workers in the Foxconn plant came from villages in the traditionally agricultural province. As buses or private cars are not allowed to hit the road in some parts of Zhengzhou, they had to walk home. For some, it is a journey of hours. For others, it can be a trip of a few days.

After videos of Foxconn workers were trending for a night, the government was taking actions quickly on Sunday. Governments in nearby counties sent coaches to take them home. There was a red banner in front of a coach that read “Welcome home.” Local governments in Xuchang, Hebi, Xinxiang and Zhoukou released open letters to Foxconn workers, saying that they were ready for their arrival. They all require the workers to notify them before they leave Zhengzhou. Some local governments even require returning workers to hold negative Covid test results in the three consecutive days immediately before their planned departure.

On Sunday afternoon, the Zhengzhou Municipal Government announced that Foxconn made arrangements for workers who wish to go home and those who stay. Information on the locations to get on the coach and contact telephones was also provided. The municipal government said they would make efforts to ensure a safe and smooth home journey for the workers.

No Serious Cases in the Foxconn Plant  

On Saturday, there were six new coronavirus cases with symptoms and 26 asymptomatic infections in Zhengzhou, a city with a population of over 12 million people, according to Henan Provincial Health Commission. Earlier, wild rumors whirred on the social media that there were about 20,000 infections in the Foxconn plant, from which workers fled.     

The current wave of coronavirus infections in Zhengzhou started in mid-October, according to Henan Center for Disease Prevention and Control.  All 12 districts of Zhengzhou were affected. Over 10 neighborhoods in Zhongyuan District, west of the Foxconn plant, were shut down.  

On October 18, Foxconn Zhengzhou announced Covid tests at night was added to tests during the day previously. On October 19, eating in the canteen was suspended and workers must go back to their dorms to eat, effective at 3 pm on the same day. Three free meals have been provided to staff on duty since then.  

Last Friday, Foxconn Zhengzhou adopted “closed-loop management”, which means workers were not allowed to live outside of the plant. There is point-to-point shuttle buses between the dorms and the assembly lines. For those who wish to resign or go home, they must go to the government-designated quarantine facilities and go through a seven-day quarantine before they leave for home, according to an announcement released last Friday.    

The Zhengzhou Municipal Government announced on Sunday that the virus has been spreading fast but the viral load has been low so far.

There are no serious cases in the Foxconn plant and the pandemic is under control, said the government.

The Foxconn production base in Zhengzhou plays a major role in the province’s foreign trade. In 2019, China’s smart phone exports accounted for 27% of global smart phone sales and a quarter of China’s smart phone exports originated from Henan province, according to IDC data. Exports from Foxconn Zhengzhou accounted for over 60% of Henan’s total exports in 2019.   

In 2021, Henan province’s foreign trade amounted to RMB820.81 billion, up 22.9% from 2020.  Smart phone exports from Henan province reached RMB272.72 billion or 28.9% of Chinas total smart phone exports.  

Workers at Foxconn Zhengzhou plants are producing iPhone 14 series. Their capacity is over 10% of Apple’s global iPhone capacity, according to a note from by Guo Mingqi, an analyst with Tianfeng International Securities.  The incident has an insignificant impact on iPhone production in the fourth quarter of 2022 given Foxconn has backup production capacity elsewhere.