Foxconn paid 20,000 rioting workers to leave the company

There were many reasons why hundreds rioted at Foxconn's Zhengzhou plant, including complaints about a lack of food during COVID confinement. One issue, though, was how Foxconn allegedly altered employment contracts so that new workers did not get the pay they were promised.

Following the riot — and an Apple team arriving at the scene — managers at Foxconn apologized to workers for what it called a "technical error."

According to Reuters, Foxconn subsequently offered 10,000 yuan ($1,400) to protesting new recruits who agreed to resign. An unspecified source told Reuters that over 20,000 workers had accepted the payment and left.

It's not clear whether all 20,000 were involved in the rioting, but it appears they were mostly new hires so it's likely they were affected by the "technical error." Reuters says that these new hires were not yet working on Foxconn's production lines.

Chinese state authorities recently announced that Foxconn needed 100,000 more workers, and also asked retired military personnel to take on roles.