Why doesn't Apple Manufacture at Home?
Why doesn't Apple Inc. open some factories in the US? They're still doing just fine, and they can afford to give some Americans some labor jobs. It's time for Apple to be a good example to the business world in every way it can: environmentally, socially, and ethically. America must rebuild its industry if it's to survive this recession.
Thoughts?
Thoughts?
Comments
Why doesn't Apple Inc. open some factories in the US? They're still doing just fine, and they can afford to give some Americans some labor jobs. It's time for Apple to be a good example to the business world in every way it can: environmentally, socially, and ethically. America must rebuild its industry if it's to survive this recession.
Thoughts?
If Apple did this, it would be like NeXT's automated factory. Huge capital costs to replace chinese workers with robots that probably wouldn't end up making very many jobs.
Who says you have to run a business that way? Who's going to buy your product if your consumers don't have jobs??
Who's going to buy their products if the labor costs 20x that of overseas labor? That has to be paid for somehow. Either you make one person 20 times more productive than overseas labor or you're just not competitive. It takes expensive machinery to replace a low cost assembly job at the same piece rate. I wonder if that machine would be as flexible for changing to updated models.
Mac Pro at least used to be made domestically. I don't know if it still is, or what fraction of them are.
It would be nice if Apple products were manufactured in the United States, but don't hold your breath. They are a publicly held company, and their shareholders would probably stage a protest if Apple moved to domestic manufacturing. It always comes down to money. Sad but true, and by no means limited to Apple. Hey, at least it's "Designed by Apple in California". Take a little solace in that.
R&D is what matters, Apple still does a lot of it in the USA.
Maybe this recession will balance things and give the USA a cost advantage, and some companies will start assembling more in the USA, not necessarily Apple.
Japan manages to be cost competitive by nearly fully automating the process, 50% of industrial robots are in Japan, the problem is, robots don't receive a paycheck and don't buy stuff, though on the bright side, this creates a robotics industry, and at some point humans have to design the robots, or at least the initial models.
Why doesn't Apple Inc. open some factories in the US? They're still doing just fine, and they can afford to give some Americans some labor jobs. It's time for Apple to be a good example to the business world in every way it can: environmentally, socially, and ethically. America must rebuild its industry if it's to survive this recession.
Thoughts?
Having seen some internal reports they got tired of overpaid drug dependent workers who were becoming a drain on the company.
Cut them loose.
Every Mac, every iPod, every other device Apple sells is produced by Quanta, ASUS, Hon-Hai, or some other big OEM, along with every other computer sold in the world. That's never going to change.
Ap[ple COULD manufacture here. They'd have to pay 40 cents per hour. Want to sign up for a job at that rate? Oh, wait, that wont work because of the minimum wage laws, WHICH CHINA DOES NOT HAVE! This is why our economy is in the crapper.
The problem isn't minimum wage laws. The cost of living in the US is too high in comparison anyway. I think a Chinese worker can probably live pretty well on that money, to do the same for the same money in the US, you're going to be finding the workers living in shantytowns. I don't think you're going to find a lot of competent workers in the US willing to do that kind of work for $0.40/hr.
I would be deeply skeptical of any claim that the wages paid in China result in a good life. Apple employees call the factory the iPod is made in "Mordor," and the standard of living in most of China is not something many of us could imagine. But when the only union is run by the same unaccountable authority who are encouraging all the industry, you'll have that.
The only variables for Apple are: Whether they can source cost-competitive manufacturing in the volume Apple requires to the standards Apple requires.
At this point the skill to assemble machinery like laptops has been outsourced for so long that even if Apple decided to bring it stateside it would be as long as 2-3 years before the plant was up and running with anything like the skill and efficiency of the Korean and Taiwanese shops.
The problem isn't minimum wage laws. The cost of living in the US is too high in comparison anyway. I think a Chinese worker can probably live pretty well on that money, to do the same for the same money in the US, you're going to be finding the workers living in shantytowns. I don't think you're going to find a lot of competent workers in the US willing to do that kind of work for $0.40/hr.
Minimum wage laws are a problem. The artificially limit what the market will bear for labor, making our country less flexible and less competitive and costs of everything go up as a result. Money goes to where it is most efficient. This is just part of the reason why it all goes overseas for manufacturing.
Minimum wage laws are a problem. The artificially limit what the market will bear for labor, making our country less flexible and less competitive and costs of everything go up as a result. Money goes to where it is most efficient. This is just part of the reason why it all goes overseas for manufacturing.
Yes, it has nothing to do with cost of living.
We're straying into PO land.