NEW DELHI--A simmering dispute at Foxconn's India
factory--which, until recently, cranked out parts for
smartphones--took a new twist on Monday when about 100 employees
were arrested, a police official said.
The conflict at Foxconn, a Taiwanese company and goliath in the
business of making mobile devices, comes just as India is trying to
court more foreign investment in the all-important manufacturing
sector.
About 250 people tried to enter the gates of the plant to punch
the clock to claim wages, but we were prevented from entering by
the police, said E. Muthukumar, president of Foxconn India
Employees Union. He put the total number of people arrested at
about 168.
The protest came just days after the Taiwanese company said it
was scaling down operations at the plant due to a lack of orders.
Foxconn India once exclusively manufactured cellphone components
for Nokia's India plant, which stands just a few blocks away and
within the same campus. The Foxconn plant is in fact part of the
Nokia Telecom Special Economic Zone at Sriperumbudur, near
Chennai.
The Nokia plant was once one of the Finnish company's largest
factories, employing as many as 8,000 people.
However, as of Nov. 1, Nokia suspended manufacturing at its
plant because of a lengthy, and still unresolved, dispute with
India's tax authorities. That dispute prevented Nokia from selling
the plant to Microsoft Corp. earlier this year as part of a deal
when Nokia exited the handsets-and-services business.
Regarding the Foxconn protesters on Monday, "We have taken them
under preventive arrest and will be released in the evening," C.
Vijaya Kumar, superintendent of police at Kancheepuram district,
told The Wall Street Journal on telephone.
Executives at Foxconn, known as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co.,
couldn't be reached for comment immediately.
Lorraine Luk in Hong Kong contributed to this article.
Write to R. Jai Krishna at krishna.jai@wsj.com
Access Investor Kit for Nokia Oyj
Visit
http://www.companyspotlight.com/partner?cp_code=P479&isin=FI0009000681
Access Investor Kit for Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.
Visit
http://www.companyspotlight.com/partner?cp_code=P479&isin=TW0002317005
Access Investor Kit for Foxconn Technology Co., Ltd.
Visit
http://www.companyspotlight.com/partner?cp_code=P479&isin=TW0002354008
Access Investor Kit for Nokia Oyj
Visit
http://www.companyspotlight.com/partner?cp_code=P479&isin=US6549022043
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires