Apple Supplier Foxconn Says Fight at Plant Spread Into Larger Unrest

09-25-2012 • www.online.wsj.com

BEIJING—A fight at a northern Chinese factory campus owned by major Apple Inc. supplier Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. escalated into larger-scale unrest early Monday, according to the company and local police.

A spokesman for Hon Hai's Foxconn Technology Group arm said the situation was "under control," but added that the plant would be shut for Monday. "Our decision is to take a day off for that particular plant today," said the spokesman, Louis Woo.

An investigation into the cause of the riots, which left 10 injured, is being carried out, according to a report from China's state-run Xinhua news agency. A local Public Security Bureau officer confirmed that there were "problems" at the plant overnight and that the police were dealing with the situation.

Mr. Woo wouldn't say how many people were involved, but workers at the plant contacted over the Internet estimated several hundred to several thousand employees were involved.

A riot at a Foxconn plant in northern China was brought under control, but the plant remained closed Monday. The WSJ's Paul Mozur explains what the incident says about the growing unrest among China's laborers.