2,000-person riot shuts down Foxconn facility in China, leaves 40 injured

A fight at a Foxconn dormitory this morning escalated into a full-scale brawl between 2,000 people that left 40 injured and the adjoining Taiyuan facility closed. The riot was first reported by Engadget, and it’s still unclear what sparked the disturbance; Foxconn so far has put it down to a “personal dispute” that appears not to have been work-related. However, a factory employee told the New York Times that the violence started when security guards and workers started brawling.

The Taiyuan plant in northern China employs over 79,000 people and makes components for various electronics and car companies, though one worker told Reuters that the iPhone 5 is assembled there. An earlier report by M.I.C Gadget also backs up the iPhone claims. While this incident isn’t the first disturbance at a Foxconn facility, with protests over pay and working conditions becoming a more familiar sight of late, the murky reports from China’s state-controlled media mean it’s too soon to draw any conclusions right now.