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Bobby Yip / Reuters file
Workers are seen inside a Foxconn factory in the township of Longhua in the southern Guangdong province, in 2010.
BEIJING—Last week, the New York Times published a report about working conditions at factories producing Apple products in China. Under the spotlight was Foxconn Technology, a key manufacturer for Apple and “China’s largest exporter and one of the nation’s biggest employers, with 1.2 million workers,” responsible for churning out tens of millions of iPhones and iPads sold around the world.
The article focused specifically on Foxconn’s Chengdu factory, where employees have complained about nonstop shifts, arduous overtime, crowded dormitories, mental health (nearly twenty workers at Foxconn have committed suicide over two years), and a hazardous working environment that's led to at least one explosion, in May 2011.
The New York Times report was also published in Chinese in the well-respected business and economic news weekly Caixin, where Chinese readers could post comments in response to the story.
Since it was released over the Lunar New Year festival, a week-long holiday which brings the country to a rare standstill, reaction seemed relatively muted. As we write this, there were 650 comments on Caixin’s Weibo page (a Twitter-like Chinese microblog)--compared to the 1,770 comments on the Times’ website.
A cynical reaction in China
On Caixin’s Weibo site, some of the comments condemned Apple’s corporate practices, but many also criticized the Chinese government for failing to protect its own citizens.
“Labor protection and social security is not only the responsibility of corporations. If the government had regulations and supervised the corporations, then they cannot be that irresponsible,” wrote one person.
A significant number also captured a sentiment that was cynical but perhaps very pragmatic of many Chinese:
“If they don’t work for Apple, those workers don’t have anywhere to shed their sweat and blood.”
“Why not kick Apple out? Tens of thousands of people will lose their jobs.“
“They are criticizing Apple only, because Apple is a huge target. The migrant workers hired by state-owned enterprises here can hardly be as good as Apple’s. Take care of your own workers before you pay attention to other people’s suppliers.”
All of which was bolstered by something this week that explains--in part--why the response in China might not be as outraged as those in the West might expect.
Workers want those jobs
On Monday, tens of thousands of people lined up outside a job agency to apply for an estimated 100,000 new jobs Foxconn is seeking to fill at its factory in Zhengzhou, the capital of central Henan province.
Foxconn wants to double its current workforce of 130,000 at the Zhengzhou plant, which it opened last year. The facility already churns out 200,000 iPhones a day and is part of Foxconn’s grand plan to make Zhengzhou the world’s largest smartphone manufacturing base.
The basic starting salary advertised--according to a report posted on M.I.C. Gadget, a blogsite about tech and other related matters in China—is 1,650 yuan a month ($261), which includes dorm housing and food.
The pay is lower than comparable salaries Foxconn pays workers at its Shenzhen factory in southern China. But that may be a sacrifice Henan workers are willing to make initially.
With a population in excess of 100 million, Henan is China’s most populous province. A fifth of them are migrant workers who travel widely to find jobs in the country’s more prosperous regions like the south or coast.
With additional reporting from Bo Gu.
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It would be nice to see manufacturing jobs come back to the US. Several things contributing to the possibility; rising wages in China and costs of transportation of goods. There is some good news in China. Because of all the suicides apparently workers are getting some concessions. That is miles below the rights of labor in the US. Apple is one of many companies do business in nearly slave labor countries such as China. I'd like to see more assembly done in the US. Another issue that is worth mentioning is the use of conflict materials in electronics. Another issue is how much money companies are keeping offshore. It would be nice to see that money come back to the US and invest in new plants. Because of the price of the rare materials in electronics there is interest in opening mines in the US.
This is the most anti business administration in recent history. Corporations are afraid to do anything here with stunts like suing Boeing, raids on Gibson guitars, etc. going on.
If you want jobs, vote out progressive socialists, i.e. Obama and democrats.
Agreed vote the scum bags out.
but you wouldn't like to pay for the increase in labor costs now would you?!?
I read that the Chinese companies are only making 2% profit of the total product they make for Apple. The rest, all Apple's.
Not 2%. It is $2 out of a $600 ipad.
REALITY CHECK: First of all, even if we could assure the workers in Third World countries of higher wages and better working conditions, this would do nothing for the peasants, day laborers, scavengers, and so on who make up the bulk of these countries’ populations.
At best, forcing developing countries to adhere to our labor standards would create a privileged labor aristocracy, leaving the poor majority no better off.
And it might not even do that. The advantages of established First World industries are still formidable. The only reason developing countries have been able to compete with those industries is their ability to offer employers cheap labor.
Deny them that ability, and you might well deny them the prospect of continuing industrial growth, even reverse the growth that has been achieved. And since export-oriented growth, for all its injustice, has been a huge boon for the workers in those nations, anything that curtails that growth is very much against their interests.
A policy of good jobs in principle, but no jobs in practice, might assuage our consciences, but it is no favor to its alleged beneficiaries.
not as many people care because its related to the ever sacred apple brand. I wonder how many employees at the human rights campaign or amnesty international will go with a droid or pc next time around. im guessing not many.
I agree those chinese Children make a heck of a good iPhone app. Steve probably had a whole bunch of children locked up at his palace when he died i hope someone is feeding them now?
U.S. unions that demand exorbitant pay and benefits for their workers are the reason that we have lost all these jobs to China. We have adequate non-union laws to protect our workers from the abuses these Chinese workers are enduring. It's time these corporations bring these jobs back to the U.S. and it's time we Americans pay more for the products made in the USA by U.S. labor. I'd rather pay more for a product made by an employed American person than pay unemployment taxes and welfare. Apple, Microsoft, and all you other big corporations, do the right thing and start supporting and healing our economy! You are taking and taking from us, getting rich off us, and giving very little back. We need your job markets!
Yea if you others would only work for pennies so these corporations can get even larger cash bonuses everything would be ok....
What did the article say? 100,000 jobs opening up there. It took me a year and a half in the US to find a job. We should all move where the work is. Maybe when the politicians aren't seeing our votes or tax dollars coming in they'll start thinking of ways to get the jobs back here instead of letting companies farm out work.
what do you expect when Obama's own jobs czar is moving a whole division of GE to China?!?
wake up and see the liberal hypocrisy.
You are welcome to take these jobs making 3000RMB a month. That is a number with lots of zeros. And apartment flats are selling for 10,000 RMB a square meter. Your kid can attend kindergartens at 10000 RMB a month. You will live very well.
The average american reaction * Gasp how horrible these evil corporations, government, blah blah blah(received via I phone).
Well, glad to see that Apple is hiring so many people... in China.
Why should america care if our products are made by china's children after all our children are stuck sitting around with out any jobs, while they make their youngest work for mere pennies a day if their lucky. Their government has made their countries people slaves, our government has abandoned us. WHO is the worse of the two dictators America or China?
The chinks get our jobs because the Chinese government is willing to invest and build these factories. Our government needs to get more proactive in business not less!!!
Obama/Biden 2012 "We Got It Straight In 2008!!!"
these jobs are in china because people like you wouldn't buy an iPhone if American (union) labor was making them. imagine paying $6,000 for an iPhone that would last half as long...
liberal fools.
Boycott Apple.
Bring the jobs back to the U.S. or maybe it's time to start boycotting Apple.
man i would love it if they did. but first you would have to swear you'd buy one of those phones that now would cost 100 times as much.
I think the take home for me is this. Steve Jobs and these other guys are held up as genious business men in our country. They are all uber rich and possibly the wealthiest men in the world. So are the Waltons that own Wal-Mart. What they have in common is that they all got rich by exploiting their labor force. Low wages, low benefits, poor working conditions, exploitation of women and no retirement are what Wal-Mart and Apple have in common. One exploited American workers and the other shipped the jobs over to China (1.2 million jobs in Apple's case).
These folks are the "new robber barons" of our nation. That's how they were able to become some of the wealthiest people on the planet. Granted they had new an inovative ideas. They deserved to be affluent for thier hard work and efforts but it does not deminish the fact that a good part of thier success was had by taking advantage of thier workforce. That fact greatly deminishes thier greatness in my eyes.
If you do not like it, STOP buying the4 phones. We could build them in the US with US unionized labor for about $10,000/phone.
That is what Steve told the Pres.
liberal fools are never happy. it's a way of life for them.
Oh man! What is it about some apple fans? The moment you say ANYTHING that could be construed as anti-apple, out pops the "well HP and Dell do the same thing...you're such a hypocrite 'cuz your typing on a PC...why are you picking on apple...?" arguments. Ok, well if you are one of these geniuses, please continue reading: the point here is that making an example out of apple would be pretty darn effective, right here and right now. After all, they are in the media because of the NY Times article and Steve Jobs' recent death, news articles about their record profits, etc. Their popularity is immense. If ever there was to be a boycott to make a statement about China's working conditions, it would have to be apple. And you can betcha EVERYONE (apple, consumers, apple's competitors, and US corporations that use Chinese labor) would take notice. And don't tell me YOU wouldn't take notice, geniuses. You'd be so threatened that your precious company would lose money that you'd probably go out an buy seconds of all your apple products to help 'em out. ...'jus sayin'.....!
another liberal corporation creating jobs in China. democrats are such hypocrites.
As I read through the mass amounts of commentary for this article, I see nothing new. A lot of complaints about this situation with no real sense of the reality on what's actually going on over there (or even in the world for that matter). The easy answer, it's not fixable until China's population stabilizes and they become a consumer-based society (similar to most of the Western economies), but until then, they will have a similar standardize level of work, that yes, our own workforce experience just 75-100+ years (and still do to some degree). This is just the evolution of an economy, and were upset because we've got better living conditions then them and "they just can't see it". They are trying to survive, so there will always be someone to fill those jobs until, once again, the consumer-based economy swing begins to take place (5-10 years in the making). There are people in way worse living conditions in this world (other parts of Asia and most of Africa) that would (and eventually will) give anything to have the Chinese work conditions. All of this is just the development of Capitalism evolving into a Global ideology. There is nothing that can be done to remedy this, so don't fight or complain about it! Learn the system, benefit from the system, and then try to help to fix some of the social issues yourself, or keep complaining and buying the goods and watch how this story ends!
A few talking points to expand: tariffs! - do nothing, but start a trade war (same with currency), these kind of jobs are very seldomly going to come back, and Americans don't want them back - they will not work in those conditions and such little pay...this brings me to a solution: I hear a lot about bring the jobs back, which is good, but not sustainable. We need to stop trying to do it all and learn to expand our superior product/service lines and businesses similar to the German economic model - produce quality and not quantity. Let all the up-and-coming countries (China, Brazil, India, etc.) fight over that market, we will never be able to compete with them, but we can (and do) definitely compete well at the higher level (engineering, aircraft, farm equipment/supplies, IT, security, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, defense equipment/technology, etc.) - we just waste too many resources on the shrinking and dieing industries. It's like putting all your money on red and keep getting black. Last point, educate and invest in yourself. Stop complaining and start taking action. If you don't like what I have to say, then get involved and start your own organization, but don't just sit behind a computer and complain about it and expect things to change (I'm talking to both sides of this conversation).
Thanks for listening!
~Ind
Apple really is a disgusting company.
Are we surprised by that this company does not care? The founder of the company instituted and encouraged a culture of selfishness. Apple is an embarrassment of American business.
Companies like Microsoft gives away billions to help people all over the world, and its founder is the standard in philanthropy.
Anyone working at or for Apple is just perpetuating.
So if about 1 million people out of the 7 billion on earth commit suicide every year (wikipedia stats) that's about 0.014%. If "nearly twenty" out of Foxconn's 1.2 million employees committed suicide over two years, doesn't that come out to about 9/1.2M = 0.0008%? Wouldn't we expect about 171 of their employees to kill themselves each year? Is it so great working there that the employee suicide rate is only about 5% of the average across the world? /endtroll
If Romney is right and corporations are people, how is it they have no responsibility like people? If you or I do this to our workers, we would be in court and eventually in jail. Or is it this: "you can enslave, endanger, and destroy peoples lives and bodies as long as you make a profit at it!" Is this what the 'jobs" in America will look like when Romney and the Neo Cons take over? Be very afraid America! This is coming to you.
I am an American working in China, I visit suppliers all over China that supply to the US, None of you would work for the copensation the Chinese get, if they make 2,000 RMB a month, that is a 10 to 12 hour work day and if they are lucky get housing and meals, Most do not. And most of the Electronics MFG. in china have oversight of american personell like myself, So enjoy your not so expensive Electronics, every product in the world is market driven and set by the consumer, so who are you Blaming?
The Chinese are good people, and will do what is right for their nation. Should you not like what is going on there in the factories, well don't buy the factories product. To all the people in China, and the Chinese living in other parts of the world GUNG HAY FAT CHOY :)
The Civil Right Acts 1964, at least, does not allow Apple to run its plant in its own nation. However, Apply can try to run the Chinese's style plant in U.S.A. and we will see what happen.
Yep just ask a union worker hows your chinese made goods?