Apple reportedly drags its feet when dealing with chronic China labor law offenders
A new report sheds some light on how Apple deals with companies that slack on enforcing labor laws in China, alleging that if corrective actions will impact Apple's bottom line, they are slow to materialize -- or may not happen at all.
iPhone 8 Plus (left) versus iPhone XR (right)
Apple stopped giving Suyin new business at that point. However, the report also alleges that it took three more years for Apple to completely cut ties with the company. An unnamed former employee told The Information that the long time it took Apple to cut ties with the company was because of a lack of sourcing of quality parts and products from other companies at the time.
Apple investigated, and found issues with the company's practices. Specifically, mechanical and chemical hazards existed were compounded by a weak safety and health culture in the company.
At the time, Apple issued a 90-day timeline for compliance. According to "an ex-Apple employee with direct knowledge of Biel's supplier responsibility record" cited in the report, Biel hadn't completed many of the tasks after a year had elapsed -- and Apple continued sourcing iPhone glass from the company.
Fearing a loss of business, Biel took some steps that Apple demanded. Following another watchdog report, Apple again audited conditions at the plant, finding only slight improvements to working conditions.
When confronted, Biel executives reportedly told Apple that investments in better working conditions were only made to attempt to get more business from Apple, and further improvements weren't worth the investment. That business was lost to Lens Technology.
On Tuesday, a report claimed that Lens Technology had used forced labor to manufacture iPhone glass. An Apple spokesperson denied that report, declaring that Lens Technology "has not received any labor transfers of Uighur workers from Xinjiang." The spokesperson added that the company has a "zero tolerance" policy for forced labor.
Apple still sources glass from Biel.
The report again cites unnamed "three former team members and a former senior Apple manager familiar with the company's operations in China" claiming that Apple never removed any supplier for repeated law violations, because requiring suppliers to comply or cutting suppliers out completely would have created additional costs for Apple, and potentially delayed product releases.
Part of the issue, according to The Information, is that Apple's supply chain alone is so massive, even the 50,000 interviews that Apple cited in its latest responsibility report is a minute fraction of the entire effort. The report estimates that there are between 1.4 million and 1.8 million workers in China associated with Apple's supply chain.
A great deal of the audits and assessments that Apple demands are performed by self-assessments. Apple's procurement employees, who visit factories more often than supplier responsibility audit teams, are tasked with keeping an eye on things, and point out problems.
This is compounded by friction between the supplier responsibility team and procurement employees, according to former Apple employees that were "senior managers involved in the company's supply chain" cited by The Information.
"On your performance reviews, you were supposed to report how much money you helped Apple save," one former longtime Apple procurement employee said in the report. "You couldn't report that you saved Apple from a PR black eye."
iPhone 8 Plus (left) versus iPhone XR (right)
Apple and Suyin
The report by The Information leads off with the saga of cable and port manufacturer Suyin. In 2013, Apple demanded that it stop using underage labor to manufacture HDMI and USB ports. The company reportedly agreed to do so, but an audit by Apple three months later found more underage workers in the factories.Apple stopped giving Suyin new business at that point. However, the report also alleges that it took three more years for Apple to completely cut ties with the company. An unnamed former employee told The Information that the long time it took Apple to cut ties with the company was because of a lack of sourcing of quality parts and products from other companies at the time.
Apple and iPhone glass manufacturer Biel Crystal
The report also cites Apple's dealings with smartphone glass manufacturer Biel Crystal. The saga with Biel also goes back to 2013, when an activist group accused Biel of labor violations and safety issues.Apple investigated, and found issues with the company's practices. Specifically, mechanical and chemical hazards existed were compounded by a weak safety and health culture in the company.
At the time, Apple issued a 90-day timeline for compliance. According to "an ex-Apple employee with direct knowledge of Biel's supplier responsibility record" cited in the report, Biel hadn't completed many of the tasks after a year had elapsed -- and Apple continued sourcing iPhone glass from the company.
Fearing a loss of business, Biel took some steps that Apple demanded. Following another watchdog report, Apple again audited conditions at the plant, finding only slight improvements to working conditions.
When confronted, Biel executives reportedly told Apple that investments in better working conditions were only made to attempt to get more business from Apple, and further improvements weren't worth the investment. That business was lost to Lens Technology.
On Tuesday, a report claimed that Lens Technology had used forced labor to manufacture iPhone glass. An Apple spokesperson denied that report, declaring that Lens Technology "has not received any labor transfers of Uighur workers from Xinjiang." The spokesperson added that the company has a "zero tolerance" policy for forced labor.
Apple still sources glass from Biel.
Other issues cited
The report also brings up other labor abuses by Apple suppliers. Even after a reform of student labor use in 2012, reports continued to pop up. The report claims that Apple stepped back from demands about the banning of student labor after Foxconn objected, and it also notes that Quanta has refused Apple's request to reduce reliance on temporary workers.The report again cites unnamed "three former team members and a former senior Apple manager familiar with the company's operations in China" claiming that Apple never removed any supplier for repeated law violations, because requiring suppliers to comply or cutting suppliers out completely would have created additional costs for Apple, and potentially delayed product releases.
Supply chain audits are only so complete
Lens Technology, like Biel, supplies nearly the entire tech industry with glass. Apple has no exclusive technology suppliers, and its main suppliers Foxconn, Wistron, and others, manufacture electronics and components for every tech company, including Amazon, Tesla, Microsoft, Dell, and others. This leads to a massive supply chain, with millions of laborers, and thousands of assembly lines.Part of the issue, according to The Information, is that Apple's supply chain alone is so massive, even the 50,000 interviews that Apple cited in its latest responsibility report is a minute fraction of the entire effort. The report estimates that there are between 1.4 million and 1.8 million workers in China associated with Apple's supply chain.
A great deal of the audits and assessments that Apple demands are performed by self-assessments. Apple's procurement employees, who visit factories more often than supplier responsibility audit teams, are tasked with keeping an eye on things, and point out problems.
This is compounded by friction between the supplier responsibility team and procurement employees, according to former Apple employees that were "senior managers involved in the company's supply chain" cited by The Information.
"On your performance reviews, you were supposed to report how much money you helped Apple save," one former longtime Apple procurement employee said in the report. "You couldn't report that you saved Apple from a PR black eye."
Comments
There is always room for improvement but I think Apple probably does a better job monitoring the conditions of it’s workers in it’s contracted supply lines than most other companies. The stories of workers in the Bangladesh clothing factories, South China sea fisheries are horrendous and I suspect most manufactured goods that we don’t think twice about in our daily consumption (especially food and clothing) are made in worse conditions.
So what is the alternative? Buy from companies that manufacture budget electronics which conduct no oversight whatsoever when they make slipshod products that have short lives and accelerate e-waste and human misery?
That’s not a good option. One needs to be mindful about our actions as consumers and make the best informed decisions we can. For me that still means buying Apple products and using them as long as possible and disposing of them wisely.
So what to do?
At what point will we consumers walk away from Apple if they don't move more of their production out of China?
Aaaaand… even if they move their production out of China, does that really help if the factories are still owned by Chinese companies. (Like with the AirPods Max: https://appleinsider.com/articles/20/12/10/apple-airpods-max-are-made-in-vietnam-but-still-by-chinese-firms.)
Apple could use the same approach - have Apple personnel on site to monitor activity, identify issues as they occur as well as work on long term issues that take time to resolve. Apple already have engineers on site so they know how to do this. Even if the cost was in the hundreds of millions, the effect on the bottom line would be minimal.
it continues so until Apple pulls out the country. Nothing Apple and others can do...
So don't you think you’re being hypocritical by singling out Apple for abandonment? As I said in another post, neither you nor anyone else is going to walk away from Apple because you have no other manufacturer to go to. All you are going to do is cluck your tongue, shake your head, and continue to buy Chinese manufactured goods.
Oh and the vast majority of prescription drugs are manufactured in and imported from China. Will you be walking away from your life-sustaining drug too?
Apple is probably trying to diversify its supply chain, but as long as it has to depend on Asia, be it China, or Vietnam, or India, they are at the mercy of local policies that override anything they can fully implement. And Apple has to depend on Asia because it is just not feasible to move to the US.
Most people don't know that depending on the business even something as small as a using a 1 USD more expensive chip could make a device 20 USD more expensive to the buyer; all according to some easy to see logic, once you're into that type of stuff.
But… take a look at the Apple numbers, and here's a local start: https://appleinsider.com/articles/20/10/31/examining-apples-impressive-647b-fourth-quarter-by-the-numbers
"Apple now has $191.83 billion in cash on hand": https://www.cnbc.com/2020/10/29/apple-q4-cash-hoard-heres-how-much-apple-has-on-hand.html
Apple has such huge resources, and profit margins, that they simply don't have to play by the usual rules as far as markup; in fact, with these profits they've already deviated (but in their own favour).
So if Apple really wanted to they could be much more aggressive about human/employee rights, because they have the resources to handle the situation if a company were to call what they think is a bluff. Apple could insist on having their own security sent in to every day check that the local factories don't employ children, and they could insist on paying the staff directly themselves.
And Apple could very much start to build their own factories in other regions. It doesn't have to be a Chinese company building and running a factory in Vietnam, it could be Apple doing things like that.
Aaaand… these factories are not non-profit organisations selling their services at a loss to Apple; so we're talking about Apple taking their huge profits, and investing those into profitable businesses that don't exploit children and the poor. Which very much would be on brand with Apple trying to appear for equality and human rights etc.
China has changed radically in that time. The optimist in me says things are improving across the board in many sectors but there are still many issues to be improved.
This is exactly the same as has happened virtually everywhere else although it probably took far longer in other countries.
Child labour in the US for example only gained federal regulation in 1938 IIRC.
The west, to this day, is still fighting for true equal rights in labour terms.
Apple is doing what it sees as best on the bigger picture. It could probably do more but change takes time.