By Chris Chang, posted May 26, 2011 at 10:50 AM, 2,129 views,

BREAKING: Foxconn Employee Commits Suicide at Chengdu Plant

This. Is. Sad. After an explosion happened at Foxconn’s Chengdu plant last week, the latest news today is an employee at the Chengdu assembly plant leaped to his death from a dormitory building on the grounds of the industrial base on Thursday 1am (May 26) without specifying the reason, said a person familiar with the matter…

UPDATE: Foxconn CEO Terry Gou gives his public comment,

I have been busy these past two days, and in the meantime, I do not have a grasp of the whole thing. We are now giving them (the workers) money to rent a house outside the plant. I’m not clear about the details.”

And when Gou consented to an interview after a banquet in Taiwan on Thursday (May 26) night, he was asked by reporters whether he knows the rumors of an employee committed suicide at Chengdu plant, he said,

“I really don’t know.”

The employee, a 20-year-old guy whose surname is Hou, jumped from the fifth floor of the dormitory and he was found dead lying on the ground with a pool of blood. Local police officers arrived and cordoned off the area. Then, ambulance arrived to clean up the area. The reason for committing suicide is unknown. Hong Kong China News Agency first reported the news.

On the other side, according to Korean Market Research firm DisplayBank, Foxconn’s Chengdu and Shenzhen plant are the main production base for Apple’s iPad 2, and Chengdu plant is producing about 32%. Due to the explosion, about 3~5% of total production disruption is expected. What’s more, the explosion is expected to disrupt production of 350,000~400,000 units of Apple’s iPad. OMG.

Source: Hong Kong China News Agency, Economic Observer via Bloomberg
More Coverage: 21fd.cn