Apple CEO Tim Cook e-mails employees about 'dramatic improvements' in supplier hirings

Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014


Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook sent out an e-mail to his company's employees on Friday, announcing the release of the latest supplier responsibility support and reiterating his commitment to fair labor practices.



The full 2012 Supplier Responsibility Progress Report includes data from 229 separate audits of Apple's overseas suppliers. Cook said to employees that the supplier responsibility program has resulted in "dramatic improvements in hiring practices" with Apple's suppliers.



"To prevent the use of underage labor, our team interviews workers, checks employment records and audits the age verification systems employers use," he wrote. "These efforts have been very successful and, as a result, cases of underage labor were down sharply from last year."



Cook's letter to employees also comes as Apple is now officially a participating member of the Fair Labor Association, which the CEO also acknowledged in his e-mail. The FLA's announcement on Friday makes Apple the first technology company admitted into the association.



"The FLA is a leading nonprofit organization dedicated to improving conditions for workers around the world, and we are the first technology company they've approved for membership," Cook wrote. "The FLA's auditing team will have direct access to our supply chain and they will report their findings independently on their website."











The full e-mail sent by Cook to employees on Wednesday was first published by Mac Generation. The letter is included in its entirety below:



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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 32
    I can't help but think of Jar Jar Binks every time I see this pic.



    Hmm, I see...

  • Reply 2 of 32
    jd_in_sbjd_in_sb Posts: 1,600member
    Tim is the supply chain master of the world. Apple is lucky to have him.
  • Reply 3 of 32
    Seems like AAPL's P/E multiple will be down after the recent actions. It's probably worth it in the long run, but Wall-Street won't like AAPL turning less focused on pure profit and more on moral image.
  • Reply 4 of 32
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by drobforever View Post


    Seems like AAPL's P/E multiple will be down after the recent actions. It's probably worth it in the long run, but Wall-Street won't like AAPL turning less focused on pure profit and more on moral image.



    This is the same Wall Street that is responsible for the financial & economic crisis going on today, was bailed out by the Feds to the tune of trillions of dollars, & expects taxpayers to pay the bill. Ask me again why I should give a shit what Wall Street thinks?
  • Reply 5 of 32
    Congrats!

    To prevent underage labor and educate employees are big deal, and there is not a lot of company which cares these.
  • Reply 6 of 32
    Rumours that a special board meeting is being held at Samsung to find out how to join the FLA
  • Reply 7 of 32
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by All Day Breakfast View Post


    Rumours that a special board meeting is being held at Samsung to find out how to join the FLA



    lol!!!!!!!
  • Reply 8 of 32
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by tru_canuk View Post


    This is the same Wall Street that is responsible for the financial & economic crisis going on today, was bailed out by the Feds to the tune of trillions of dollars, & expects taxpayers to pay the bill. Ask me again why I should give a shit what Wall Street thinks?



    Well, you obviously shouldn't. The investors who own Apple stock care a great deal though, and are going to be pissed that their investment will become worth less that it should be because Apple's doing the right thing and not being purely focused on profit.
  • Reply 9 of 32
    The podcast (on Itunes) below details a visit to Foxconn back in 2010, so Apple has probably made significant advances since then, but nevertheless don't tell me Tim Cook did not know what was going on back then. Apple is simply managing the bad publicity shit storm this labor exploitation issue is going to bring down on the whole tech industry before it bites Apple. Note the point in the podcast where a Chinese line worker (aged 13) says Foxconn replaces the entire underage labor line with older workers while the audit is ongoing.

    It's not a pretty image for a company with $80 billion in the bank and subcontracted labor with n-Hexane damaged lungs, mangled and deformed hands and no workers' compensation.



    This American Life #434 Mr. Daisey goes to Apple
  • Reply 10 of 32
    postulantpostulant Posts: 1,272member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by All Day Breakfast View Post


    Rumours that a special board meeting is being held at Samsung to find out how to join the FLA



    This is probably true...
  • Reply 11 of 32
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Freshmaker View Post


    Well, you obviously shouldn't. The investors who own Apple stock care a great deal though, and are going to be pissed that their investment will become worth less that it should be because Apple's doing the right thing and not being purely focused on profit.



    How about being profitable AND being morally responsible?



    We need to stop accepting the nonsense from people who focus on profit to the point that they are ok with committing human rights violations.
  • Reply 12 of 32
    camcam Posts: 35member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Freshmaker View Post


    Well, you obviously shouldn't. The investors who own Apple stock care a great deal though, and are going to be pissed that their investment will become worth less that it should be because Apple's doing the right thing and not being purely focused on profit.



    I've actually invested a great deal in shares of AAPL and personally, I'm very glad to see Apple taking a stance of integrity.



    In my mind this is just another area where Apple is taking a leadership position and one where I hope other companies will continue to copy them!
  • Reply 13 of 32
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Freshmaker View Post


    Well, you obviously shouldn't. The investors who own Apple stock care a great deal though, and are going to be pissed that their investment will become worth less that it should be because Apple's doing the right thing and not being purely focused on profit.



    Speculation and conjecture sure are fun eh? Nobody knows how these new practices are going to affect Apple's bottom line.



    FUD.
  • Reply 14 of 32
    paxmanpaxman Posts: 4,729member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by All Day Breakfast View Post


    Rumours that a special board meeting is being held at Samsung to find out how to join the FLA



    I am guessing they'll squeeze the item into the agenda of the board meeting about to convene on their new and innovative power cables.
  • Reply 15 of 32
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by CAM View Post


    I've actually invested a great deal in shares of AAPL and personally, I'm very glad to see Apple taking a stance of integrity.



    In my mind this is just another area where Apple is taking a leadership position and one where I hope other companies will continue to copy them!



    Hear! Hear!



    Not only as an $ investor, but as a time investor -- a great part of my personal life, business life and my grandkids future is invested in Apple.



    This makes me very proud to be a small part of "the world according to Apple"... very proud, indeed!



    Further, I especially like the succinct, no-nonsense nature of this communication...





    I look forward to a great future for Apple, their management, their employees, their supply and distribution chains, and to their end users.





    Keep the Team/Tim emails coming...
  • Reply 16 of 32
    rbryanhrbryanh Posts: 263member
    This is of course a good thing. But I can't help but note that the most valuable corporation on earth is reduced to crowing about having reduced the number of children it exploits.



    It's just not enough to define good as reducing the amount of harm we do. Growth is far more than the simple absence of decrepitude. "First, do no harm" is a fine place to start, but stopping there is a terrible mistake.
  • Reply 17 of 32
    bwikbwik Posts: 565member
    This is an example of a CEO shaking in fear because social media (including radio programs like This American Life) is pressing the company to face the music, or else lose control of a valuable brand image. It is social media holding capitalism accountable. The slogan that Apple enslaves children would be quite powerful insofar as it is a documented truth. Cook knows this, and is using leadership to try to fix the problem.
  • Reply 18 of 32
    jragostajragosta Posts: 10,473member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by rbryanh View Post


    This is of course a good thing. But I can't help but note that the most valuable corporation on earth is reduced to crowing about having reduced the number of children it exploits.



    It's just not enough to define good as reducing the amount of harm we do. Growth is far more than the simple absence of decrepitude. "First, do no harm" is a fine place to start, but stopping there is a terrible mistake.



    The difference is that you have companies like Google claiming that they are not evil - all the while they're stealing and selling your private information and stealing every piece of intellectual property they can get their hands on.



    Apple, OTOH, has an incredible reputation for taking care of their employees. They appear to be the only major tech firm who actually audits suppliers in China. They have an incredible environmental record in terms of using materials of low toxicity. But since they're not trumpeting "don't be evil", people are all over them.
  • Reply 19 of 32
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by bwik View Post


    This is an example of a CEO shaking in fear because social media (including radio programs like This American Life) is pressing the company to face the music, or else lose control of a valuable brand image.



    That may be partially true, but if you scroll down a list of other electronics companies that use Foxconn for production, which of the others on the list have gone to the lengths that Apple has to try to rectify the situation? Granted, going public with it makes it look as if Apple is 'crowing' about it, but Apple has a pretty decent track record of doing things because they are good for the environment, and this adds doing things because they are good for people to the list.



    It sounds as if Apple has had suppliers change their practices in the past, and are expecting them to play by even more stringent rules in the future. Good on Apple!
  • Reply 20 of 32
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by drobforever View Post


    Seems like AAPL's P/E multiple will be down after the recent actions. It's probably worth it in the long run, but Wall-Street won't like AAPL turning less focused on pure profit and more on moral image.



    Apple is in it for the long run. I wouldn't invest in a company that uses slash and burn tactics to make a quick buck. I suppose much of Wall Street follows Tea Party mentality these days though...
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