Foxconn workers depart company, rather than shift to non-iPhone assembly -- report

Posted:
in iPhone edited February 2017
Apple partner and device assembler Foxconn is going on a hiring spree at China colleges, but reports from within the company claim that as iPhone 7 manufacturing winds down, assemblers would rather leave than deal with lower pay and fewer safety precautions when building goods from other companies.




Foxconn has kicked off a recruitment drive from 12,000 recent university graduates and 6,000 graduates of senior high schools and junior vocational colleges in China. Ostensibly, the plan is to cultivate engineers for development of new products over time, ultimately nurturing talent in-house.

Foxconn chairman Terry Gou is demanding that graduates should begin with the company at the "lowest level," meaning device manufacture, in order to build knowledge. The recruitment notices claim that new hires can garner a monthly salary of 2400? ($350) immediately, with overtime boosting that to 4,000? ($582) in time. The offered salary is commensurate with other manufacturer's offerings in the area.

Local Chinese media is claiming that the recruitment drive is needed because of employee departure. The primary reason cited for the employee departure, as cited by the local media, is that workers would rather leave than be shifted to a non-Apple product as iPhone 7 lines slow in accordance with seasonality.

Reportedly, protections demanded by Apple for assemblers of its products aren't necessarily extended to employees if they move to another company's products, inducing the departures.

As of late, Foxconn has taken to building "Foxbots" for device assembly, with 60,000 workers known to have been stricken from the company rolls as a result. It is not known how many of the robots are being used to assemble Apple devices.
linkman
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 40
    So workers assembling Apple devices are more protected ?! I am glad paying for this.
    baconstanganton zuykovtgr1welshdogcalinetmagewatto_cobra
  • Reply 2 of 40
    lkrupplkrupp Posts: 10,557member

    Reportedly, protections demanded by Apple for assemblers of its products aren't necessarily extended to employees if they move to another company's products, inducing the departures.
    If true. IF true then this flies in the face of the “slave labor” meme we still hear thrown around by the troll army. I wonder if Mike Daisey knows about this? Oh that’s right, he was later found to be lying through his teeth about his experiences re Apple’s manufacturing ethics.
    anton zuykovjbdragonradarthekatsuddenly newtonStrangeDayscalinetmagewatto_cobrabadmonk
  • Reply 3 of 40
    Rayz2016Rayz2016 Posts: 6,957member
    So workers assembling Apple devices are more protected ?! I am glad paying for this.
    Well, yes.  Apple has stringent health, safety and remuneration requirements for companies who manufacture its products. 

    If people would rather leave than move to another production line then how bad are they? :-( 
    anton zuykovjbdragonradarthekatwelshdogcaliwatto_cobrabadmonk
  • Reply 4 of 40
    It's fine that Apple-only assembly workers have more protections but I don't believe they should be getting paid much higher than the prevailing wages. There are thousands of people in China available to replace any workers who leave. Literally thousands. And wage rates and labor conditions are dependent on local factors and local laws and should not be viewed through the tint of Western prejudices.
    edited February 2017 mike1
  • Reply 5 of 40
    slurpyslurpy Posts: 5,382member
    Wait, but I thought that Apple invented slave labor, that they have "child labor camps" in China, that if I buy an Apple product I'm actively supporting slavery, that Apple can single-handed change global manufacturing dynamics if it wishes to, and that the best thing would be if Apple were to close down all manufacturing and leave these workers jobless, at which point they will obviously go purchase a villa and live in luxury, instead of starving to death. The despicable ignorance and lies and discussing Apple's manufacturing disgusts me. The most pathetic part is that is often comes from Android fanatics who have no problem using products created under much, much worse conditions. The worst kind of hypocrisy, the kind that pretends to be altruism.
    linkmanmike1lkrupptmayanton zuykovjbdragonradarthekatwelshdogStrangeDayscali
  • Reply 6 of 40
    "a hiring spree at china colleges"?? aren't they going to college to get a better job? assembly line jobs don't really require any qualifications surely?
  • Reply 7 of 40
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,718member
    lkrupp said:

    Reportedly, protections demanded by Apple for assemblers of its products aren't necessarily extended to employees if they move to another company's products, inducing the departures.
    If true. IF true then this flies in the face of the “slave labor” meme we still hear thrown around by the troll army. I wonder if Mike Daisey knows about this? Oh that’s right, he was later found to be lying through his teeth about his experiences re Apple’s manufacturing ethics.
    Agreed. Mike Daisey, now there's a name I'd forgotten! One of the founders of Fake News. Where is he now, a Fox News anchor?
    watto_cobrabadmonk
  • Reply 8 of 40
    adm1 said:
    "a hiring spree at china colleges"?? aren't they going to college to get a better job? assembly line jobs don't really require any qualifications surely?
    I assume for work to pay for college? This would seem to make more sense.
    cali
  • Reply 9 of 40
    lkrupplkrupp Posts: 10,557member
    slurpy said:
    Wait, but I thought that Apple invented slave labor, that they have "child labor camps" in China, that if I buy an Apple product I'm actively supporting slavery, that Apple can single-handed change global manufacturing dynamics if it wishes to, and that the best thing would be if Apple were to close down all manufacturing and leave these workers jobless, at which point they will obviously go purchase a villa and live in luxury, instead of starving to death. The despicable ignorance and lies and discussing Apple's manufacturing disgusts me. The most pathetic part is that is often comes from Android fanatics who have no problem using products created under much, much worse conditions. The worst kind of hypocrisy, the kind that pretends to be altruism.
    I have myself become a tad obsessive at pointing out the blathering idiocy of trolls, haters, and naysayers when it comes to Apple. The unwashed masses hear this stuff and some of it sticks in their mush filled brains. Then they parrot it back during casual conversations. We all know the tried and true crap the trolls spew...

    1. Only stupid people buy Apple products.

    2. Apple products are overpriced.

    3. Apple uses slave labor.

    4. Apple is a monopoly.

    5. The Apple tax meme.

    6. Apple no longer innovates.

    7. Jobs is dead and so is Apple.

    8. Apple only survives by using planned obsolescence.

    9. Apple intentionally removes features  and ports to force people to spend more money, the Greed motive.

    10. Every other product on the market is superior to anything Apple makes, a repeat of the “Only stupid people buy Apple products.”

    And many, many more.
    anton zuykovjbdragonwelshdogcaliwatto_cobrabadmonkjony0
  • Reply 10 of 40
    williamhwilliamh Posts: 1,032member
    adm1 said:
    "a hiring spree at china colleges"?? aren't they going to college to get a better job? assembly line jobs don't really require any qualifications surely?
    I read somewhere . . . maybe in the article, that Foxcon's President is demanding that the new engineer hires start by working on the assembly line to gain knowledge. 
    tmaynetmage
  • Reply 11 of 40
    slurpy said:
    Wait, but I thought that Apple invented slave labor, that they have "child labor camps" in China, that if I buy an Apple product I'm actively supporting slavery, that Apple can single-handed change global manufacturing dynamics if it wishes to, and that the best thing would be if Apple were to close down all manufacturing and leave these workers jobless, at which point they will obviously go purchase a villa and live in luxury, instead of starving to death. The despicable ignorance and lies and discussing Apple's manufacturing disgusts me. The most pathetic part is that is often comes from Android fanatics who have no problem using products created under much, much worse conditions. The worst kind of hypocrisy, the kind that pretends to be altruism.
    To be fair, the conditions for workers were awful before with any manufacturer who used Foxconn. When the issues were brought to Apple's attention, at first they didn't believe it. It sounded like something made up. It was only after a local man took pictures and videos and gave them to Apple, then they did something. This was after Foxconn had lied about workers conditions, and what happens to all those caustic dangerous chemicals when they need to be disposed of.  Apple was very upset when they saw that and fired a lot of employees and contractors and created their own investigative team. They have bumped heads with Foxconn and the government about workers conditions and compensation. 

    The problem is other companies who use Foxconn do not care. Dell, HP, Microsoft, Sony, Toshiba, etc all know the same thing but are staying quiet. Why? Because they don't want to pay more to have their products made. They would rather have conditions remain the same. 

    You are living in an age where China is experiencing its Industrial Age. We went thru it and it took a long time for us to have safe working conditions and fair compensation compared to then. With the culture in China it might take much, much longer for them to evolve and it might end up costing us more to pay for products made there. 
    radarthekatcharlesgres
  • Reply 12 of 40
    tmaytmay Posts: 6,309member
    williamh said:
    adm1 said:
    "a hiring spree at china colleges"?? aren't they going to college to get a better job? assembly line jobs don't really require any qualifications surely?
    I read somewhere . . . maybe in the article, that Foxcon's President is demanding that the new engineer hires start by working on the assembly line to gain knowledge. 
    It's also true that Foxconn would like to develop it's own products, likely not in direct competition with Apple, yet anyway, and building up a base of manufacturing and design engineers who are familiar with best assembly practices, makes sense.

    China may continue being the location of world class assembly for consumer electronics, but the reality is that they too want to create products with profitable margins, and Apple, among others, is teaching them how. Use the same reasoning on why India wants manufacturing in country. Don't be surprised at China marketing electric vehicles in the U.S. soon.
    edited February 2017
  • Reply 13 of 40
    tundraboytundraboy Posts: 1,884member
    This is obviously FAKE NEWS because everyone knows that iPhone assembly plants in China are horrible Dickensian hell holes where workers are herded in to toil and die.  Just ask Mike Daisey.
    edited February 2017 watto_cobra
  • Reply 14 of 40
    slurpy said:
    Wait, but I thought that Apple invented slave labor, that they have "child labor camps" in China, that if I buy an Apple product I'm actively supporting slavery, that Apple can single-handed change global manufacturing dynamics if it wishes to, and that the best thing would be if Apple were to close down all manufacturing and leave these workers jobless, at which point they will obviously go purchase a villa and live in luxury, instead of starving to death. The despicable ignorance and lies and discussing Apple's manufacturing disgusts me. The most pathetic part is that is often comes from Android fanatics who have no problem using products created under much, much worse conditions. The worst kind of hypocrisy, the kind that pretends to be altruism.
    To be fair, the conditions for workers were awful before with any manufacturer who used Foxconn. When the issues were brought to Apple's attention, at first they didn't believe it. It sounded like something made up. It was only after a local man took pictures and videos and gave them to Apple, then they did something. This was after Foxconn had lied about workers conditions, and what happens to all those caustic dangerous chemicals when they need to be disposed of.  Apple was very upset when they saw that and fired a lot of employees and contractors and created their own investigative team. They have bumped heads with Foxconn and the government about workers conditions and compensation. 

    The problem is other companies who use Foxconn do not care. Dell, HP, Microsoft, Sony, Toshiba, etc all know the same thing but are staying quiet. Why? Because they don't want to pay more to have their products made. They would rather have conditions remain the same. 

    You are living in an age where China is experiencing its Industrial Age. We went thru it and it took a long time for us to have safe working conditions and fair compensation compared to then. With the culture in China it might take much, much longer for them to evolve and it might end up costing us more to pay for products made there. 
    When labor become too costly or inefficient when compared to the cost of automation, then automation takes over. This is basic.

    True story:  Back when I used to travel to China for product manufacturing, a supplier we used had almost all manual laborers assembling products. Huge rooms filled with workers as far as you could see hand assembling products for eventual US sale. As they got more business and grew, just over the span of about four years, they replaced nearly all of the hand assembly work with machinery. Massive, clean plants with the very latest multi-million dollar machines. It was a shockingly rapid transition.
    badmonk
  • Reply 15 of 40
    stevehsteveh Posts: 480member
    MacPro said:
    Agreed. Mike Daisey, now there's a name I'd forgotten! One of the founders of Fake News. Where is he now, a Fox News anchor?
    CNN
    SpamSandwichnetmage
  • Reply 16 of 40
    jbdragonjbdragon Posts: 2,305member
    More likely at MSNBC!  

    SpamSandwich
  • Reply 17 of 40
    NemWanNemWan Posts: 118member
    It's fine that Apple-only assembly workers have more protections but I don't believe they should be getting paid much higher than the prevailing wages. There are thousands of people in China available to replace any workers who leave. Literally thousands. And wage rates and labor conditions are dependent on local factors and local laws and should not be viewed through the tint of Western prejudices.
    Um, sure. One might even argue that the wealthy businesspeople of America might have their own "prejudices" based on their own lifestyle needs compared to those of their much poorer American workers, and therefore should pay those workers LESS, because they are underestimating poorer people's ability to get by on much less money than a wealthy person knows how to live on!
  • Reply 18 of 40
    Analyst spin: "Workers @ Apple / Foxconn factory leave in record numbers due to threat of future working conditions."
    watto_cobrabadmonk
  • Reply 19 of 40
    zoetmbzoetmb Posts: 2,654member
    It's fine that Apple-only assembly workers have more protections but I don't believe they should be getting paid much higher than the prevailing wages. There are thousands of people in China available to replace any workers who leave. Literally thousands. And wage rates and labor conditions are dependent on local factors and local laws and should not be viewed through the tint of Western prejudices.
    The actual Western (capitalist) prejudice is that in order to maximize corporate profits, workers wages should be as low as possible and determined on a supply and demand basis rather than what it takes for someone to have a living wage and decent life.    There is no moral case one can make that workers wages should be kept low simply because there are plenty of workers to take their place, either in China, in the U.S. or anywhere else.   This attitude in the U.S. is what has caused workers to fall out of the middle class and partially responsible for the tremendous resentment and disillusionment many people have today in addition to today's adults being the first generation to have less opportunity than their parents.  On the other hand, over the last 20 years, China has brought millions into the middle class.  

    The only problem in paying more than the prevailing wage is inflation.   If a large number of workers in a particular geographic region earn more, housing, fuel, food and other costs might rise accordingly and the workers would be no better off and possibly worse off.   To some extent, we've seen this in places like San Francisco, Palo Alto, Cupertino and environs, where housing prices have become completely absurd (as well as cities like Boston, New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, etc.)
    StrangeDaysdewmebadmonk
  • Reply 20 of 40
    It's fine that Apple-only assembly workers have more protections but I don't believe they should be getting paid much higher than the prevailing wages. There are thousands of people in China available to replace any workers who leave. Literally thousands. And wage rates and labor conditions are dependent on local factors and local laws and should not be viewed through the tint of Western prejudices.
    I believe the pay difference comes from Apple mandating that they are paid appropriately for overtime and not so much a higher base wage. 
    netmage
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