Foxconn Workers Riot at iPhone 5 Plant

Foxconn is no stranger to grim headlines. Workers have gone on strike, committed suicide over factory conditions and pay, and rioted already earlier this year. Now Sina.com and other Chinese news portals have reported that factory workers at Foxconn’s Taiyuan campus, where electronic products like the iPhone 5 are produced, began rioting in response to what appears to be an act of brutality against one of their fellow workers by a security guard.

Rioting workers, which reports say may have numbered up to 2,000 (out of 79,000 at the plant), attacked an on-campus supermarket, several gates and a local bus. Rioting began at around 11pm Sunday night local time and continued until 3am, when police arrived at the scene. 10 were injured, and according to some reports the riot saw at least an additional 10 fatalities.

According to Foxconn officials via Sina.com, the plant was temporarily closed Monday to allow employees to “cool off.” It is unclear whether workers will receive compensation during the factory’s closure.

Foxconn’s assembly plants produce much of the hardware in many popular gaming and cellular devices, including the iPhone, Playstation 3 and Xbox 360.

Thanks, Kotaku.