The Shocking Conditions Inside China's Brutal Foxconn Factory (makes Apple iPods, iPhones, iPads)

[FarCenter]

Chris Chang, M.I.C. Gadget | May. 19, 2010, 4:47 PM | 1,658 | 20
AAPL May 19 2010, 05:20 PM EDT

The Foxconn suicide mess all started from job stress. Within half a year, there were 9 suicide attempts, with 7 confirmed deaths in Foxconn’s factory in Shenzhen, China.

In order to find out what’s really going on in that factory, the Southern Weekly, described by The New York Times as China’s most influential liberal newspaper, sent an amateur reporter to slip into Foxconn’s factory to pose as a worker and the mission is to find out the truth about the suicide cluster.

The deaths of the workers in Foxconn have caused a lot of noise in the IT world. Macs, iPods, iPhones and iPads are all assembled in Foxconn’s factory of China. And now, without any explanations, workers who are assembling these gadgets have gone crazy and some of them killed themselves. After the sixth suicide attempt happened in April, Southern Weekly’s amateur reporter, Liu Zhi Yi, arranged to slip into Foxconn’s factory ... while another senior reporter, Yang Ji Bin, conducted interviews with the senior management. Together, they have found out the real living conditions of Foxconn workers.

...

Every single one of the workers is living through life like a clock. They work, they get off, they go to sleep. And the next day, they repeat the same thing again. The reporter thinks that the only way to stop this cycle is for them to end their lives.

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Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/the-shocking-conditions-inside-chinas-brutal-foxconn-factory-2010-5#ixzz0oPyAjBbT

[PSPS]

1. The Jobs groupies won't like this story

"Made by Chinese Slaves"

"Designed in California"

[MattBaggins]

10. but but but... Apples is cool... Why do you hate America?

[meegbear]

2. You can only blame the company if it's Microsoft ...

otherwise, you're just jealous of their freedoms.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

6. I blame a lot of tech companies for a lot of bad stuff.

Microsoft
Apple
Sony
Cisco
Dell

To name just a few.

[Touchdown]

20. And every one of those has shit made by Foxconn.

Only Apple gets singled out though.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

24. On this, you are correct, as I wrote below.

If you want to criticize a company by name, criticize it for doing bad things other companies DON'T do. Otherwise, the criticism should be on the industry in general.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

3. I don't think many tech hardware companies can claim any moral high ground on that. -nt

[ProgressiveProfessor]

13. Quite right...however there are other issues with the Ipad etc

that are not shared with Dell, HP, Cisco etc

[Touchdown]

21. Like what?

Zunes, XBoxes, Playstations, Wiis, Nokia Phones, Droids, Intel chips... All made by Foxconn. So what is the other issues that are iPad specific that you're talking about?

[Clintonista2]

4. You must be on microsofts payroll

Yes, I've actually seen an apple cultist say that :rofl::rofl:

[Greyhound]

5. Welcome to the New World Order.

This is what we are being led to...

All sheep share a common destiny.
:kick: & R

[druidity33]

7. honestly

Do you think ANY company that has anything made in China is any better? Do you see where the reporter asked how the workers' jobs compared to others' from their homewtown? Oh, you didn't? Because he didn't ask. Is Foxconn ONLY making Apple products? 400,000 workers and they're only making Apple products? Really? 9 suicides out of 400,000 workers? Is that a lot?

Not trying to defend Apple here. ALL corporations are complicit the second they take their manufacturing facilities to a country that can legally treat their workers this way... to single out Apple is EXTREMELY disingenuous.

:shrug:

[girl gone mad]

11. Yes, 9 suicides in a healthy population of 18 to 24 year olds..

in less than a year is a lot. There have been several other attempts, too.

You're not trying to defend Apple here? Then what exactly are you doing? Trying to minimize the effects of corporate slavery in China?

[druidity33]

18. I was trying to say

that if you buy anything that is made in China, then you must expect that you are contributing to this slave worker system. Why should Apple be any different than any other country that uses "cheap labor"?

9 suicides "in a healthy population of 18-24 yr olds".....

Where are the figures for this? Is this in one factory? How many workers are there? Was it just young people? The article linked has NONE of this information.

I guess you're right though. I am defending Apple, mostly because i don't see why they should be witheld from what every other large electronics manufacturer in the world does.

:shrug:

[Touchdown]

23. It isn't a lot. China's suicide rate is 14 out of 100,000 overall.

9 vs. 28 apparently is not high in China. While I truly would like to have our manufacturing done here, or at least in a country that has decent human rights and some worker protection by law, singling out Apple when you are scolding them on a Chinese made computer yourself is the height of hypocrisy.

[TommyO]

8. Foxconn also builds products for Intel, Dell, HP, Sony, Nintendo, Microsoft...

Motorola, Amazon, Cisco, not to mention products sold under its own name, and components for other companies. Singling out Apple is ludicrous.

[boppers]

14. Yeah, the Apple-hate was pretty transparent.

Pure attempt at a hit piece.

[MattSh]

15. Yeah, but

people go ballistic when you mention Apple. Who'd pay attention if it was Motorola?

Not only the original article. Here at DU too...

[SidDithers]

17. The motherboard in my Gateway desktop is made by Foxconn...

I know 'cause I've already had to replace it once.

Sid

[Catherina]

9. I almost caved to my lust and bought an IPad. Thank you I won't be now n/t

[Luminous Animal]

19. Then you also need to be willing to give up most any other personal electronic

device. Including any computer of any brand, any mp3 player, any reader, and any cell phone.

All of them are made with slave labor.

[Peace Patriot]

12. They have to stand for 8 hours! Wasn't that a torture at Abu Ghraib?

"...one of the workers said that he constantly wanted to drop something on the floor so he could bend down to pick it up while working. Due to the long hours standing (up to 8 hours), if he had the chance to lie or squat down on the floor, it would be the most enjoyable moment during the work day. So, he could get the chance to rest."--from the OP

Jeez.

[Brickbat]

16. This is not an isolated event. I assume that everything that has "Made in China" on it was made in

a factory similar to this one. Every time I want to buy something that says "Made in China," I ask myself if it's worth this cost.

[Liberal_in_LA]

22. Anyone see the documentary China Blue last night? It was on a PBS station... awful, blue jean factor

factory, making clothes or Wal Mart and others. Employees were working 15 plus hour shifts 7 days a week. Six cents and hour...when/if they got paid.