Apple Implicated in Foxconn Plant Abuses

Chinese Facility Accused of HR Malpractice

A recent New York Times article revealed an in-depth account of what life is like at Foxconn, the electronics manufacturing plan whose clients include HP, Microsoft, Sony , and Toshiba. "Bleak working conditions have been documented at other factories manufacturing products for Dell, Hewlett-Packard, I.B.M., Lenovo, Motorola, Nokia, Sony, Toshiba and others" according to the Times.

Its biggest customer, Apple, for whom it produces iPads and iPhones, is coming under fire for turning a blind eye to worsening worker conditions at Foxconn's Chengdu plants, in China's Sichuan province.

This article not-so-coincidentally came a few days after the Times' reported Apple's record fiscal quarter, shattering analysts' forecasts, with $46.3 billion in revenue, and over $13 billion in net income. This provided enough of a boost to its stock that it has now surpassed Exxon Mobil to become the world's most valuable company.

Foxconn's History of Employee Endangerment

The Chinese manufacturer has been at the centre of a number of controversial stories in the last few years:

• Workers threatened mass suicide at Xbox plant to protest conditions.
• An explosion at an iPad plant killed two people.
• A Foxconn employee committed suicide after losing an iPhone prototype.
• Foxconn CEO called plant workers animals but recanted by saying it was not an insult.

Apple's Profits & Values Under Fire

Apple is no more or less to blame than Sony, or Toshiba, HP or Microsoft, though it is bearing the brunt of the scandal not only as a result of their massive war chest, but also because many of the qualities and values on which the company prides itself are being questioned.

Their famous secrecy not only applies to product launches; Apple refuses to publicly list the location, and only recently revealed the identities, of its manufacturing plants. This impedes the likelihood of reports coming out about worker conditions at such plants.

The company touts its exceptional service, frequently rated as the best in the industry, but critics argue that this focus on people who purchase its products, not those who make them.

CEO Tim Cook Responsible for Supply Chain

Recently promoted CEO Tim Cook now has his first real fire to put out since the death of Steve Jobs last year. His face is not as recognizable as Jobs', which undoubtedly helped humanize the company. However it was Cook, not Jobs, who set up the current supply chain in China years ago, and some feel Cook should take sole responsibility for its failures.

After refusing to comment on the New York Times' exposé, an email circulating around Apple days after its release called the claims false and offensive.

Former Apple Exec Sites Foxconn Failed Audits Since 2005

A former Apple executive spoke anonymously to the New York Times in reference to repeated failures in Apple's audits of Foxconn's plants (some of which date back to 2005), saying,"If you see the same pattern of problem, year after year, that means the company is ignoring the issue rather than solving it."

Only time will tell if Apple will join the ranks of Nike, The Gap, and McDonalds who faced similar accusations in recent years. Some feel that Apple, as a transformative industry leader, has an opportunity to set the bar high with respect to how workers should be treated.