Theft of thousands of iPhone at Wistron factory, loss of Rs 437 crore

Bengaluru: A violence at Wistron's factory in Narasapura in Kolar Plant on Saturday where iPhones are assembled, had caused a loss amounting to an estimated of Rs 437 crore.

The losses are mostly due to the theft of thousands of iPhones, allegedly looted from the unit during the violence, and damage caused to Wistron's assembly line and factory equipment, the company had stated in its complaint to the police.

Condemning the two-hour violence at Wistron assembly, Karnataka labour minister Shivaram Hebbar said that the damage had caused the company an insurmountable loss which is unacceptable.

According to the government's statement, the dispute between Wistron and the contract labourers has been going on for three months. Hebbar said that Wistron had contracted six subsidiary companies to hire 8,900 people for its Kolar unit.

"Besides, the company had 1,200 permanent employees," he added.

Industries minister Jagadish Shettar had alleged that the violence was fuelled by miscommunication between Winstron, the contractors and the employees.

The company had made payments to the labour contractors who delayed the payments to the employees and this resulted in the violence at the factory.

Hebbar said that the labour department had issued notices to Wistron, asking the firm to make the payment due in three days.

Responding to the violence at the Wistron factory in Narasapura, the Bangalore Chamber of Industry and Commerce (BCIC) said it is disheartening that people take law in their hands instead of going through the well-laid dispute resolution mechanism available under the law.

BCIC president, TR Parasuraman had said that while the investment climate in Karnataka is improving due to several positive and progressive measures taken by the government, these kinds of issues will only cause mistrust among the investor's confidence and will affect employment opportunities.

"It is very important for all the stakeholders to seriously introspect from these incidents and take quick and appropriate countermeasures so that these incidents never happen in the future," the BCIC president added.

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