Apple supplier Wistron to resume production soon: Karnataka Minister Jagadish Shettar

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Taiwan-based Wistron, a manufacturer on contract for Apple Inc, is set to resume production at Kolar in Karnataka in the next few days, state Large and Medium Industries Minister Jagadish Shettar said on Thursday. The factory at Narasapura in Kolar district had been shut since December 12 when about 4,000 employees vandalised the facility over wage-related issues.

The company, which had removed its vice-president overseeing the India operations, had admitted to some workers not being paid correctly or on time and had apologised for the lapse. A team led by Sudipto Gupta, managing director of Wistron, met Shettar at Vidhana Soudha and apprised him on resuming the re-appointment process to commence production in the facility.

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Shettar regretted that such an incident had taken place. However, the industry-friendly Karnataka has been working hard to create a supportive environment for industries. It is a matter of happiness that the re-appointment process has started and production ready to resume," Shettar said.

He added that support would be extended by the state government and the Industries Department.

On February 9, the Wistron Smart Devices CEO David Shen had announced restarting the operations at Kolar. He had said the company has been working on improving across the board to raise standards and fix the issues.

"All employees have been promptly and fully paid, and we implemented new hiring and payroll systems to ensure everyone is paid correctly and provided the correct documentation going forward," Shen had said in a statement.