Brazilian billionaire hopes to court Apple for device assembly
The eighth richest man in the world hopes he will be able to convince Apple to assemble its products in Brazil, rather than in sometimes-controversial facilities in China.
According to MacMagazine in Brazil, Eike Batista is looking to court businesses to fill in 90 square miles of space at the Port of Acu. He said bringing Apple to Brazil would benefit the country, as customers there would likely no longer have to "pay twice what you pay in the United States."
Batista is clearly dreaming big, as his backup plan is to pitch his plan to carmaker BMW. Construction work is already under way on the Port of Acu, a $1.6 billion project in southeast Brazil.
Batista is a Brazilian entrepreneur who made his fortune in the mining industry. As of 2010, the 53-year-old has a total net worth of $27 billion, and he has publicly stated he hopes to eventually become the richest person in the world. For comparison, Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs has a net worth of $6.1 billion, making him the 42nd wealthiest American.
Apple's dependance on companies in the Far East to create and assemble its products has at times been a point of controversy. Earlier this year, the iPhone maker was compelled to make a public statement after a rash of suicides occurred at the manufacturing hub of Foxconn in Shenzhen, China.
Apple began auditing its plants in 2006 after a newspaper report suggested workers at a Foxconn plant were treated unfairly and forced to operate under sweatshop-like conditions. Apple now conducts an annual audit of its overseas partners, and last year found that more than half weren't paying their workers valid overtime rates.
According to MacMagazine in Brazil, Eike Batista is looking to court businesses to fill in 90 square miles of space at the Port of Acu. He said bringing Apple to Brazil would benefit the country, as customers there would likely no longer have to "pay twice what you pay in the United States."
Batista is clearly dreaming big, as his backup plan is to pitch his plan to carmaker BMW. Construction work is already under way on the Port of Acu, a $1.6 billion project in southeast Brazil.
Batista is a Brazilian entrepreneur who made his fortune in the mining industry. As of 2010, the 53-year-old has a total net worth of $27 billion, and he has publicly stated he hopes to eventually become the richest person in the world. For comparison, Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs has a net worth of $6.1 billion, making him the 42nd wealthiest American.
Apple's dependance on companies in the Far East to create and assemble its products has at times been a point of controversy. Earlier this year, the iPhone maker was compelled to make a public statement after a rash of suicides occurred at the manufacturing hub of Foxconn in Shenzhen, China.
Apple began auditing its plants in 2006 after a newspaper report suggested workers at a Foxconn plant were treated unfairly and forced to operate under sweatshop-like conditions. Apple now conducts an annual audit of its overseas partners, and last year found that more than half weren't paying their workers valid overtime rates.
Comments
-
Brazilian billionaire... try to say that 7 times fast.
Let's all just say Brazillionaire.
http://sacom.hk/wp-content/uploads/2...nes_sacom3.pdf
I hope Apple start manufacturing elsewhere. The idea that Foxconn didn't actually raise the wages of it's staff, and just announced to the press that they were going to in order to get the focus off the suicide issue is very troubling.
I'm guessing Apple would be willing to work with production in Brazil. Spreading production to different areas reduces the risk of something going wrong with the supply chain. As long as his factory can produce the quality Apple demands and at the volume they demand, it could be a go. And to reduce our dependency solely on China for products is a good thing. Not as good as building locally, but still better than sending ALL our wealth to one country.
I agree with all you say. It seems a sensible idea to at least consider for sure.
Heck he even has a company called OSX.
With automation and economies of scale, shorter supply lines, the cost structure could be competitive,
As I said, I don't know the economics of it, but I certainly could imagine the GREAT PR it would get if Apple said tomorrow 'we are moving all our manufacturing jobs to the US' ! It would make a huge statement to the rest of the big businesses who are sitting on top of huge cash surpluses while millions of Americans are out of work. That kind of good PR would have to generate income down the road.
Enough already with sending labor overseas and 10% unemployment here, while letting Wall Street tell us how well we're doing! We need to produce everything, and then sell the products we make. The current situation is simply not sustainable.
Interesting concept though. Hope a factory comes to the US as well eventually... but just for domestic consumption rates.
The only place that Apple should produce its products is here, at home in the USA.
Then Apple store would look like:
iPad - From 1299$
iPhone - From $999$
iPod classic - Just 677$
MacBook - From 2499$
MacBookPro - From 2999$
....
How about investing in an automated assembly plant in the US? I am not talking about California, but there are other states where land is dirt cheap, labor costs are low with no unions. The states should be able to give tax brakes. Apple can lobby for accelerated depreciation for the plant or even expense a huge percentage.
With automation and economies of scale, shorter supply lines, the cost structure could be competitive,
I am by no means an expert on this topic, but I'm fairly certain that it's not just the wages. The way the Chinese economy is set up, it would be cheaper by far to do an automated factory in China than the USA, so even if they could find a way to make an automated USA factory competitive with the current factories in China, if they transposed that new automated factory to China instead, then they would save even more.
The reality is that these kind of jobs are *never* coming back to places like the USA/Canada/UK etc., and that this kind of job loss is more structural than situational.
How about investing in an automated assembly plant in the US? I am not talking about California, but there are other states where land is dirt cheap, labor costs are low with no unions. The states should be able to give tax brakes. Apple can lobby for accelerated depreciation for the plant or even expense a huge percentage.
With automation and economies of scale, shorter supply lines, the cost structure could be competitive,
I have said this many times on this blog and always been shouted down and told automation won't reduce costs. I would have thought it would too, especially as I bet Apple / SJ could design a new paradigm shift in automation!
I vote for Florida so my deliveries are even faster
How about investing in an automated assembly plant in the US? I am not talking about California, but there are other states where land is dirt cheap, labor costs are low with no unions.
Oh yes, let's exploit our own workers by low-balling their salaries and denying them benefits. If China and others had real independent labor unions like ours there wouldn't be the sweat shops that keep the costs of our consumer goods so low.
Yes, bring the jobs home, but make them good jobs that can allow a family to send their kids to college or trade schools, not just subsist in Appalachia.
How about investing in an automated assembly plant in the US? I am not talking about California, but there are other states where land is dirt cheap, labor costs are low with no unions. The states should be able to give tax brakes. Apple can lobby for accelerated depreciation for the plant or even expense a huge percentage.
With automation and economies of scale, shorter supply lines, the cost structure could be competitive,
While I think it would be great to manufacture apple products here, The price for their products would skyrocket and the profits would plummet.
There wouldn't be any benefit in terms of tax or labor savings. Economies of scale and automation work in china as well as here and I would guess they are utilizing them. Assembly factories in the U.S. would increase supply lines from right next door to half way around the world, not shorten them.
Then Apple store would look like:
iPad - From 1299$
iPhone - From $999$
iPod classic - Just 677$
MacBook - From 2499$
MacBookPro - From 2999$
....
Always the same answer.
In Germany, people keep buying Mercedes and BMW at prices twice that of a comparable Lexus. Why? Because if they would buy a Lexus their money would leave the country and they would have to pay the unemployed in their own country. It's a double-edged sword. It works there, why would it not work here?
Oh yes, let's exploit our own workers by low-balling their salaries and denying them benefits. If China and others had real independent labor unions like ours there wouldn't be the sweat shops that keep the costs of our consumer goods so low.
Yes, bring the jobs home, but make them good jobs that can allow a family to send their kids to college or trade schools, not just subsist in Appalachia.
Why would a high-tech automated assembly plant necessitate low wages? Fewer low or semi skilled workers perhaps but no reason why there shouldn't be plenty of well paid skilled people. Look at the potential in the new cloud plant in the Carolinas. Plus all the spin off potential for local business.