Apple Supply Chain Hit At Critical Time By Workers Demanding Their 'Blood And Sweat Money' Back

Apple Inc’s AAPL Asian supply chain has been rocked by protests in both China and India over unpaid wages and bonuses, the Financial Times reported Sunday.

What Happened: On Friday and Saturday, more than 100 workers on the iPhone maker’s assembly lines protested in China over unpaid bonuses, according to FT.

The demonstration against Taiwanese Pegatron Corporation was centered around unpaid bonuses of RMB 10,000 ($1,530) each, according to China Labor Watch.

The workers raised the slogan, “Give us back our blood and sweat money,” as per a video seen by FT.

Last week, Apple workers in India vandalized a factory of Taiwan’s Wistron Corporation and claimed they were brutally “exploited.”

Why It Matters: Apple’s Asian workers are demonstrating at a time when the Cupertino, California-based tech giant is striving to boost iPhone production by 30%.

The tech giant has asked its suppliers to manufacture between 95 to 96 million iPhones, including the latest iPhone 12 models, as per Nikkei Asia.

After investigating the incidents in India, Apple said over the weekend that it would halt “new business” with Wistron until it took “corrective action.”

The Tim Cook-led company had put Pegatron on probation a month earlier after it uncovered earlier cases of labor law violations.

Price Action: Apple shares closed nearly 1.6% lower at $126.66 on Friday and gained 0.52% in the after-hours session.