Foxconn Working Conditions Blamed For Multiple Suicides

The Foxconn Technology Group is the world’s largest manufacturer of electronics and computer components. Foxconn manufactures the iPad, iPod, iPhone, and the Mac mini for Apple. Foxconn also makes products for other companies: Intel, Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Zoostorm, Sony, Nintendo, Microsoft, Motorola, Amazon, and Cisco.

Foxconn is headquartered at Tucheng, Taiwan. Its largest plant is located in Shenzhen, which is part of the Guangdong province in southern China. This is just north of Hong Kong. The main plant in Shenzhen employs over 300,000 workers.

Foxconn has attracted a great deal of media attention because of  multiple suicides within the past several months (Shenzhen Post). Just in the past week, a 19-year-old man jumped to his death, yet adding another suicide to the list (Huffington Post).

Workers in Shenzhen are paid a minimum wage of $130 a month. The workers often work 10 hours a day and the speed is very fast. Workers mostly share dorms with other employees they don’t know, and their roommates usually speak other Chinese dialects. This barrier makes it hard to understand what their roommates are saying (Time).

Earlier in the year, a journalist went undercover in Foxconn for 28 days (China Digital Times). The same story was translated into English (engadget).

Also, video here shows Foxconn security guards beating workers at a Beijing plant (tudou.com). More info at (shanghaiist.com).

Unfortunately, this tragic story has no happy ending and no easy solution.  Although Apple is getting much of the spotlight, this is an ongoing problem in Asia, and has been for decades.

Have our short-term memories already forgotten about Nike? In 1984, Nike closed its last U.S. factory and moved its entire production to Asia (clrlabor.org). The publicity was overwhelming.

As Nike was not the only shoe company doing this, it attracted the most publicity due to its tremendous success. Can the same thing be happening to Apple in the high-tech industry? Is Apple taking the fall for the entire industry?

Our hearts and compassion go out to the victims and their families that grieve over the horrible incidents. Employee abuse does not only apply to Foxconn and China. Employee abuse  is a worldwide problem that desperately needs to be addressed.

As unemployment levels in the United States reach a 26 year high, employers may find it is a prime opportunity to take advantage of employees. This leads to mental health complications among employees (associatedcontent.com).