| Date: |
19-12-2014 |
| Subject: |
Foxconn advances plant closure to Dec 22 |
CHENNAI: The world's largest electronics contract manufacturer, Foxconn has advanced the suspension of production at its Sriperumbudur plant to Monday (December 22) from the earlier announced Wednesday (December 24).
At the tripartite meeting between the employees union and management and the assistant commissioner of labour for Kancheepuram district, Foxconn announced that employees need not come to the factory from Monday, sending furious reactions from union members.
"We are opposing the closure. Foxconn can find other customers and keep the plant running," E Muthukumar, president of Foxconn's employees union told TOI. "We will go to the factory on Monday as like any other day. They cannot abruptly announce closure."
It is learnt that Foxconn was keen to talk separations terms which was dismissed by the union. The assistant commissioner for labour has adjourned the hearing to December 26.
Foxconn is suspending production at its Sriperumbudur plant located inside Nokia SEZ, due to lack of orders as its biggest customer in India - Nokia, has exited mobile phone business.
Foxconn is keen to wind down its India operations, and see off nearly 1,700 workers at the plant.
Foxconn came into India in 2006 following its most-important client at that time, Nokia. The company had two units in Sriperumbudur HiTech SEZ and one inside Nokia SEZ. At the peak of its operations, the company employed more than 6800 persons directly inside the Nokia SEZ factory alone. The other two plants in Sriperumbudur HiTech SEZ on the Chennai-Bengaluru highway have already been shut down as Nokia started downsizing its orders to Foxconn over the past two years. The company is learnt to have invested nearly Rs 850 crore in India for manufacturing phones and components.
Billionaire Terry Gou promoted Foxconn, which ended last year with $127 billion in revenues, is the world's largest electronics contract manufacturer and a key supplier to Apple, HP and Sony.
Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com
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