Foxconn workers in an unspecified factory. (Photo/xinmin.cn)
(ECNS) -- About one million discarded iPhone 6 batteries from Foxconn Technology Group plant in Shenzhen, a city near Hong Kong, have turned into a windfall for local e-waste recycling dealers, xinmin.cn reported Wednesday, citing Taiwanese media reports.
The batteries were discarded from the production line at the Shenzhen plant, where iPhone 6s are made, with e-waste dealers selling them on to downstream vendors at a price of 20 to 100 yuan (about $3.3 to $16.6), making millions of dollars in the process.
Foxconn, the world's largest contract electronics manufacturer, alleges insiders may have taken advantage of loopholes in the company's internal control system and bypassed proper procedures, resulting in the batteries landing on the black market rather than being destroyed.
The company has formed a task force to investigate the case.