PremiumWistron, the contract manufacturer for Apple iPhone, is set to resume production in the coming few days, Jagadish Shettar, minister for large and medium scale industries of Karnataka said.
The factory, located in Kolar district of Karnataka, has been closed on 12 December after the violence by contract workers and others over wage-related issues.
The company, which had removed its vice-president overseeing the India operations, had admitted to some workers not being paid correctly or on time and had apologised for the lapse.
A team led by Sudipto Gupta, managing director of Wistron, met Shettar at Vidhana Soudha and apprised him on resuming the re-appointment process to commence production in the facility. Shettar regretted that such an incident had taken place. However, industry-friendly Karnataka has been working hard to create a supportive environment for industries.
"It is a matter of happiness that the re-appointment process has started and production-ready to resume," Shettar said. He added that support would be extended by the state government and the Industries Department.
On February 9, the Wistron Smart Devices CEO David Shen had announced restarting the operations at Kolar. He had said the company has been working on improving across the board to raise standards and fix the issues. "All employees have been promptly and fully-paid, and we implemented new hiring and payroll systems to ensure everyone is paid correctly and provided the correct documentation going forward," Shen had said in a statement
Earlier, a Mint report said that Wistron will restart operations at its factory near Bengaluru after being forced to shut it down in December.
Though the statement given by the company in early February did not give a timeline for reopening the plant, two people aware of the developments said it could happen within a week. Wistron said it has now put in place new hiring and payroll systems.
"We are looking forward to restarting our operations and welcoming back team members and we thank them for their patience and support as we worked through corrective actions," Wistron said.
The restarting of the Wistron facility will be significant for Apple, which has been pushing hard to boost its market share in India. As part of the company’s efforts, Apple launched its official online store in India in September and may later open physical stores.
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