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Moon Kil Woong Comments (8207)
 
Considering Apple demands certain areas of every factory be devoted only to it, it is clear they can be deemed fully responsible and fully condones the practices involving the production of their goods. Although I like Apple and their products, their behavior when it comes to its production is nothing less than atrocious. It is funny because Cook being in charge of operations before Job's passed away is primarily responsible for its low price at any cost labor and manufacturing practices. I hope this gets looked into deeper.
18 Feb, 07:45 PM Reply Like

ExaminerB Comments (28)
 
I agree with you entirely. I have sold my Apple stock and will never again purchase an Apple product.
19 Feb, 12:31 AM Reply Like

odspan Comments (34)
 
So what products will you buy? HP? Dell? Qualcomm? Toshiba? They're all made in China and most by the same company Apple uses: Foxconn. And none of them have taken one step to correct the problems. You should be praising Apple for leading the way and pressuring everyone else who is turning a blind eye and happy to let Apple take the heat.

Not that any poor labor practices are acceptable, do you have any idea of the alternatives the workers face? Many are women from the countryside who have no value on the farm. Without these jobs they would be turned out to fend for themselves, many ending up as roadside prostitutes or worse. China is changing but very slowly. We need to have some perspective of the full breadth of their societal ills before passing absolute judgements.
22 Feb, 05:14 PM Reply Like

what do I know Comments (508)
 
ExaminerB: Good for you!
30 Mar, 03:20 PM Reply Like

Bubenthauser Comments (23)
 
Buahaha, nice try, Bloomberg.
I'll be even more bullish from now on.
19 Feb, 04:16 AM Reply Like

lower98th Comments (1339)
 
I vote we send Cook to Foxconn as the next undercover boss....and never let him out.
19 Feb, 09:24 AM Reply Like

Trever99 Comments (104)
 
Personally I don't think the American consumer really cares about these kinds of things. If it makes an IPAD 30 bucks cheaper to have it made at a facility where a small percentage of employees commit suicide every year... I think most Americans will agree that this is probably an acceptable trade off.
19 Feb, 11:04 AM Reply Like

ChiefEngineer Comments (93)
 
Sounds to me that Apple-who by manufacturing in China-gave employment to those who would be far poorer. And who is this Fair Labor Practices group? A bunch of lawyers with sociology degrees, with a minor in Alinksky organizing ?? Utopian One World Marxists who never met a Fellow Traveler they didn't like?

This is a hit job on low hanging fruit, because Apple is more idealistic than most companies. Why don't they go after Brazilian mining companies? Because they would be shot and the police would look the other way. What about practices in Africa, where Africans enthusiastically enslave other Africans? Vietnam anybody? Burma?

Gimme a break. Sell your stock immediately when the market opens, so I can add more to my portfolio.
19 Feb, 06:42 PM Reply Like

ExaminerB Comments (28)
 
Would not it have been better to purchase Apple about a decade ago, when I purchased the stock?
23 Feb, 11:30 PM Reply Like

deercreekvols Comments (1260)
 
Years ago it was Nike that came under fire for the factories in Asia that had terrible working conditions.
Now it is Apple's turn.
If consumer's have problems with how goods are made, then don't buy them. It is a very simple action to take.
If you don't believe in a company, then don't buy the stock.
I remain long Apple.
19 Feb, 08:30 PM Reply Like

Trever99 Comments (104)
 
yep.. vote with your wallet.
21 Feb, 12:00 AM Reply Like

markditton Comments (2)
 
I agree with Trever99.
Do consumers really care about working conditions in a Chinese top of the line factory that pays well above the minimum wage..?

I've visited China and taken a good look around and seen what -real- hard labour is (its way tougher than most westerners would imagine) and Foxconn's factory looks lightyears ahead of anything I've seen in China.

Sure it could be a nicer place to work (I think they might be loosing something on the human front that wouldnt cost alot financially, but thats purely speculation on my behalf..) but comparative to the other options in China its a far safer and better payer.

Would I rather not work 60-80 hours a week in the West?
Sure, am I about to commit suicide about it? No
Did working in several drudgery jobs in my youth encourage me to get an education and a career? It sure did.

Given the far worse problems of health and safety in wider manufacturing generally is this really big news...?

I used to work as a manufacturing engineer in Australia, where fatal accidents were far from uncommon (heck, I was working at times at 50+ fts heights without any safety myself, not exactly safe-practice either); witnessed workers regularly exposed to toxic chemicals and had a uni colleague leave North Sea Oil-rigs as "your numbers going to come up one day...", and witnessed some pretty awful practices in 2 big name chemical companies (one of whom since had a rather nasty oil spill...).

My point is simply this - manufacturing is often nasty, risky and monotonous. It involves chemicals, high-voltages, temperatures and large machines you wouldnt want anywhere near your house (often with good reason).

Process work at its best is dull, boring monotony; and at its worst can be dangerous to life and limb (even using the best machinery, people just do dumb things for expediency).

Look at that advert showing typical Chinese manufacturing press next time, where the guy moves his hand just before activating the press - guys loose their arms (or worse) regularly in that sort of safety-less manufacturing...

Foxconn by focussing in high-tech and reasonably safety makes it at least unlikely to accidentally die there..

Do you want to pay $50-100 extra for Apple iPads to turn a safe, well-paying company into a "workers paradise" - in whats a far worse swamp of indescribably worse practices..??
21 Feb, 12:16 AM Reply Like

surfnspy Comments (193)
 
"Did working in several drudgery jobs in my youth encourage me to get an education and a career? It sure did."

Thank you! +1+1+1+1.................
21 Feb, 01:13 PM Reply Like

Trever99 Comments (104)
 
Well.. my original comment was a bit tongue in cheek.

Ultimately Apple shouldn't support a facility that has suicide problems regardless of whether they pay their people a couple of bucks more a year. You never need that kind of bad press.

My ultimate point was that you could make those IPads in a north american facility and the units would only be slightly less profitable. The argument holds true with electronics, textiles, cars, you name it. Pick any market where you can buy a starter home for under $70K and it could be successfully made there. And yes, there are tons of those markets now.
21 Feb, 02:41 PM Reply Like

GLT Comments (4)
 
Compare Foxconn today to the U.S.A. in the 1920s and 1930s before OSHA, before Child labor laws, before minimum wage and overtime laws. The Chinese workers today have it MUCH better than the U.S. workers who of the past did when they worked in dust, dirt, hazardous materials, lost hands and arms, and were killed by the hundreds during the industrial revolution's unsafe work conditions and vicious anti-union organizers. Again, the Chinese workers have it MUCH better with a clean, safe workplace and a place to sleep.
22 Feb, 02:19 PM Reply Like

ExaminerB Comments (28)
 
My great grandfather was a miner murdered by gunmen hired by the mine owners in a strike to protest declining wages and poor working conditions in 19th century America. Of course, he and the other strikers had guns and shot back. The Chinese workers making $1 dollar per hour, working 14 hour days six days a week, living ten to a room, and facing arrest and imprisonment if they attempt to organize do not have weapons. How dare the respondents above compare FoxConn favorably to the even worse working conditions extent in the rest of China? You should be ashamed to profit from their misfortune, and evidently are not.
23 Feb, 11:41 PM Reply Like