Just a week after violence blew up at its Narasapura facility in Karnataka, contract manufacturer Wistron on Saturday announced it has let go of its vice-president responsible for operations in India, while iPhone maker Apple placed the Taiwanese firm on probation.

Wistron had admitted that it had made mistakes pertaining to the wage payment processes.

A section of workers at Wistron Corporation's facility in Narasapura Industrial Area in Kolar district near Bengaluru went on rampage last week over non-payment of their wages.

“We are removing the Vice President who oversees our business in India. We are also enhancing our processes and restructuring our teams to ensure these issues cannot happen again,” Wistron said in a statement.

Sources say that the fired employee was Vincent Lee, though the company did not reveal any names.

Wistron acknowledged that during its investigation, it found out that “found that some workers were not paid correctly, or on time”.

“We deeply regret this and apologise to all of our workers. This is a new facility and we recognise that we made mistakes as we expanded,” it said.

Wistron said that some of the mechanisms related to payment of wages needed to be strengthened and added it is taking “immediate action to correct this, including disciplinary action”.

The firm has increased its headcount from 2,000 in the middle of this year to around 9,000 recently.

“Our top priority is to ensure all workers are fully compensated immediately and we are working hard to achieve that,” it said.

The company said it has established an employee assistance programme for workers at the facility, and has set up a 24-hour grievance hotline in Kannada, Telugu, Tamil, Hindi and English to ensure all workers can voice any concerns they may have, anonymously.

Apple, in a separate statement, said it has placed Wistron on probation and that the contract manufacturer will not receive any new business from the US-based company before corrective actions are completed. Apple is also undertaking a detailed investigation in this matter.

“We have placed Wistron on probation and they will not receive any new business from Apple before they complete corrective actions. Apple employees, along with independent auditors, will monitor their progress. Our main objective is to make sure all the workers are treated with dignity and respect, and fully compensated promptly,” it said.

Over 160 people have been arrested by the police in connection with the violence during which stones were hurled, windows and doors were broken and vehicles in the parking lot were overturned and set on fire. Video footage of the attack had flooded the social media.