More than 20,000 new hires have left Apple supplier Foxconn's Zhengzhou plant in China - Foxconn source

More than 20,000 employees, most of them were new hires not yet working on the production line, have left Apple (AAPL.O)supplier Foxconn's (2317.TW) Zhengzhou plant in China, a Foxconn source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Friday, Qazet.az reports.

The person said the departures would complicate the company's previous target of resuming full production by the end of November, following worker unrest that rocked production at the world's largest iPhone factory. 
 

Foxconn declined to comment.

The worker departures come after the Taiwanese firm offered on Thursday 10,000 yuan ($1,396) to employees who wanted to resign and leave the chaos-hit plant.

It had apologised for committing a pay-related "technical error" when hiring new recruits, which workers say was a factor that led to protests involving clashes with security personnel.

Videos posted on Chinese social media on Friday showed crowds and long lines of luggage-laden workers queuing for buses. "It's time to go home," said one of the posters.