The worker unrest at a Foxconn Technology Group plant at Wuhan, China, has been resolved and a majority of the workers have returned to work by Wednesday, according to Microsoft Corp.

One hundred fifty Chinese workers at the Foxconn plant that manufactures Microsoft's Xbox game consoles have threatened mass suicide over a pay dispute. The protesters threatened to jump from the roof of a factory building. Microsoft released a statement about the incident:

"After talking with workers and management, it is our understanding that the worker protest was related to staffing assignments and transfer policies, not working conditions. Due to regular production adjustments, Foxconn offered the workers the option of being transferred to alternative production lines or resigning and receiving all salary and bonuses due, according to length of service. After the protest, the majority of workers chose to return to work. A smaller portion of those employees elected to resign."

"Microsoft takes working conditions in the factories that manufacture its products very seriously. We have a stringent Vendor Code of Conduct that spells out our expectations, and we monitor working conditions closely on an ongoing basis and address issues as they emerge. Microsoft is committed to the fair treatment and safety of workers employed by our vendors and to ensuring conformance with Microsoft policy."

Foxconn said in a separate statement that local government and labor officials joined Foxconn executives in talks with the workers. The 150 workers apparently staged the protest after Foxconn announced that the workers in the business unit were being transferred to another unit within the Wuhan manufacturing campus.

Foxconn, a Taiwanese company that produces brand-name electronics for companies such as Microsoft, Apple, Dell, Hewlett Packard and Sony, faced a similar incident in 2010 when 10 employees committed suicide over poor working conditions. After the spate of suicides, the company raised wages for workers in Shenzhen and took measures to improve workers' lives including organizing recreational activities, setting up a 24-hour help line and employing Buddhist monks to offer spiritual consolation. Foxconn also moved its factories to locations in west and central China, where production costs are lower.