Skip to Content

iPhone 12 Production Halted in India by Protests Over Food Poisoning

iPhone 12 production in India has been halted by protests over food poisoning at a Foxconn factory, Reuters reports.

iPhone 12 Made in India
Foxconn's manufacturing plant near Chennai in southern India, which produces iPhone 12 models, is set to remain shut this week after protests by workers. Protestors reportedly blocked a major highway leading to the plant in response to 150 employees being admitted to hospital with food poisoning last week. The incident is said to have inflamed other employee concerns that have since been reported to the state labor ministry.

The temporary closure is expected to have a minimal impact on Apple in the short term, but it could have ramifications for ramping up production going into 2022. The disruption comes amid other supply chain constraints for Apple, which have been expected to worsen during the holiday quarter. The facility also makes Amazon Fire TV sticks and some devices for Xiaomi.

Earlier today, it was reported that Apple plans to manufacture iPhone 13 models at the Chennai facility, even though the iPhone 11 and iPhone 12 are currently believed to be the best-selling iPhones in India.

Tags: Foxconn, India
Related Forum: iPhone

Popular Stories

Apple Event Logo

Apple Released Seven New Products Today

Wednesday March 11, 2026 7:05 am PDT by
Starting today, the seven new Apple products that were announced last week are available at Apple Stores and beginning to arrive to customers. The colorful MacBook Neo and all of the other new products are on display at most Apple Store locations around the world starting today. Apple Stores have inventory of the new products for both walk-in customers and Apple Store pickup, but...
Apple 50 Years of Thinking Different

Apple Announces 50th Anniversary Plans

Thursday March 12, 2026 6:10 am PDT by
Apple today announced that it will celebrate the company's 50th anniversary over the coming weeks, but it has yet to reveal any specific plans. Apple was founded on April 1, 1976, so the company will turn 50 on April 1, 2026. "While Apple is known for looking forward, this milestone offers a special moment to reflect on the journey that has brought the company here, to celebrate the...
iphone fold text

iPhone Fold to Feature iPad-Style Multitasking and Layouts

Wednesday March 11, 2026 1:31 pm PDT by
The upcoming foldable iPhone that Apple plans to debut this September will operate like a cross between an iPhone and an iPad, reports Bloomberg. When the device is opened up, the UI will have an iPad-like layout that supports multitasking with two apps side-by-side. No iPhone to date has supported running multiple apps on the display at the same time, beyond simple picture-in-picture mode...

Top Rated Comments

baryon Avatar
55 months ago
Dammit poor people! Stop protesting about your inhumane working conditions and make my new iPhone! My old one is nearly a year old and I'm bored of it!
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
55 months ago

Uh oh! Not a great feeling to be reminded your iPhone was made in a sweatshop.

Meanwhile Tim Apple keeps printing money.
ummm. Did you see Amazon and Xiaomi also use this factory? Almost all manufacturing for all brands is done by separate companies, some in India, some in china, Vietnam, Thailand, of which Apple has somewhat higher standards than others, although hard to control when your manufacturer is an unrelated third party..... In fact Samsung uses its own factories (vertical integration), but their conditions are typical for this industry and not much better. So, if you restate your comment without Apple, or as inclusion of the whole industry, you would be correct. Manufacturing in general is not a high paying job ripe with benefits. in a related matter, just look at how poorly amazon treats its employees, talk about a sweat shop

Not to belittle the problem, but these people deserve better by all industries and all companies
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
55 months ago
Wow. No empathy for workers I see.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
55 months ago
It is been suggested to only drink bottle water when travel to India.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
sideshowuniqueuser Avatar
55 months ago

Uh oh! Not a great feeling to be reminded your iPhone was made in a sweatshop.

Meanwhile Tim Apple keeps printing money.
It's obviously far far from the worlds worst working conditions. The fact that they can go on strike for a week and still have a job at the end of it says that they have quite a bit of power to fight for better conditions.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
JPack Avatar
55 months ago
It’s about infrastructure and education. Some people seem to think Apple could manufacture in the middle of the desert without automated ports, high speed rail, or other supply chain necessities. They don’t even think about the basics like literacy, access to water, or electricity.

A few years ago, the Indian government embarked on an enormous mission simply to eliminate public defecation because of the health hazards and poor sanitation associated with it. Some things, you can’t blame Apple or Foxconn for because such problems wouldn’t even come across your mind in the first place.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)