Bengaluru: The Wistron Corporation has filed a complaint at the Vemagal police station regarding the violent incident that took place at its Narsapura iPhone manufacturing plant.
In the complaint, company executive T D Prashanth has stated that the incident cost loss of office equipment, mobile phones, production machinery, and related equipment worth Rs 412.5 crores. The company said thousands of iPhones were stolen during the violence.
He stated in his complaint that 5,000 contract labourers and about 2,000 unknown culprits carried out the vandalism in the factory facility.
Wistron said a large number of employees had allegedly carried out arson, loot and violence at its plant, damaging the building and vehicles and costly equipment including machines and computers.
About 2,000 workers had ransacked the facility over non-payment of their wages on Saturday. The employees were seen damaging property, overturning cars and breaking offices.
The police have so far arrested 149 people and detained a few others, The Hindu reported.
The managing director of the Wistron India Sudipto Gupta said in a statement that the company was in a state of deep shock by the events.
“We are supporting the authorities with their investigation. The safety and wellbeing of our team members is always our top priority,” Gupta said in a statement to the media.
Wistron is one of Apple’s top global suppliers and has been making iPhones in India for nearly four years.
“Apple is dedicated to ensuring everyone in our supply chain is treated with dignity and respect. We have teams on the ground and immediately launched a detailed investigation at Wistron’s Narasapura facility in India,” Apple told NDTV.
Political parties in Karnataka have condemned the violence and called for thorough investigation of the incident.