Ondrej Holzman Apple makes huge profits from iPhones and iPads. The devices are also popular due to the fact that they are offered at relatively affordable prices. However, Apple achieves these under very tough conditions that are dictated by Chinese factories. The Californian company tries to manufacture its equipment as cheaply as possible, and the Chinese workers feel it the most...
Of course, it is not just an example of Apple, but its production processes are often discussed. It is an open secret that it is manufactured in China under conditions that would not even be legal in the United States.
But the situation might not be so critical. Apple can undoubtedly afford to pay factories more money, or at least demand higher wages for workers. The workers who make iPhones and iPads certainly cannot afford these devices, and some of them will never even see the finished devices. It also wouldn't hurt to raise labor and safety standards while still keeping Apple's huge profits, but they don't.
Server & Hosting This American Life last week he devoted a big special to the industrial production of Apple. You can read the full report <a href="https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1932/8043/files/200721_ODSTOUPENI_BEZ_UDANI_DUVODU__EN.pdf?v=1595428404" data-gt-href-en="https://en.notsofunnyany.com/">here</a>, we select a few of the most interesting points here.
- Shenzhen, the city where most of the products are manufactured, was a small riverside village 30 years ago. It is now a city that has more inhabitants than New York (13 million).
- Foxconn, one of the companies that manufactures iPhones and iPads (and not only them), has a factory in Shenzhen that employs 430 people.
- There are 20 buffets in this factory, each serving 10 people a day.
- One of the workers that Mike Daisey (the author of the project) interviewed was a 13-year-old girl who polishes the glass for thousands of new iPhones every day. The interview with her took place in front of the factory, which is guarded by an armed guard.
- This 13-year-old girl revealed that she doesn't care about age at Foxconn. Sometimes there are inspections, but the company knows when they will happen, so before the inspector arrives, they replace young workers with older ones.
- During the first two hours Daisey spent outside the factory, he encountered workers who claimed to be 14, 13, and 12 years old, among others. The author of the project estimates that about 5% of the employees he spoke to were minors.
- Daisey assumes that Apple, with such an eye for detail, must know about these things. Or he doesn't know about them because he simply doesn't want to.
- The reporter also visited other factories in Shenzhen, where he introduced himself as a potential customer. He discovered that the individual floors of the factories are actually huge halls that can accommodate 20 to 30 thousand workers. The rooms are quiet. Talking is prohibited and there are no machines. For such little money there is no reason to use them.
- The Chinese work "hour" is 60 minutes, unlike the American one, where you still have time for Facebook, a shower, a phone call, or a casual conversation. Officially, the working day in China is eight hours, but standard shifts are twelve hours. They are usually extended to 14-16 hours, especially if there is a new product in production. During Daisey's time in Shenzhen, one of the workers died after completing a 34-hour shift.
- The assembly line can only move as fast as the slowest worker, so all employees are monitored. Most of them cost.
- Employees go to sleep in small bedrooms, where there are usually 15 beds that are made up to the ceiling. The average American wouldn't have a chance to fit in here.
- Unions are illegal in China. Anyone who tries to create something similar is subsequently imprisoned.
- Daisey spoke to many current and former workers who secretly support the union. Some of them have complained about using hexane as an iPhone screen cleaner. Hexane evaporates faster than other cleaners, speeding up production, but it is neurotoxic. The hands of those who came into contact with the hexane were constantly shaking.
- One of the former employees asked his company to pay him overtime. When she refused, he went to management, who blacklisted him. It circulates among all companies. People who appear on the list are problem workers for companies, and other companies will no longer employ them.
- One man crushed his arm in a metal press at Foxconn, but the company did not provide him with any medical assistance. When his hand healed, he was no longer able to work with it, so he was fired. (Fortunately, he found a new job, working with wood, where he says he has better working conditions - he only works 70 hours a week.)
- By the way, this man at Foxconn used to make the metal body for iPads. When Daisey showed him his iPad, he realized the man had never seen it before. He held it, played with it and said it was "magical".
We don't have to look far for the reasons why Apple has its products manufactured in China. If iPhones and iPads were manufactured in America or Europe, production costs would be many times higher. There are certain production, hygiene, safety and standards set here, which Foxconn frankly does not even come close to. Importing from China is simply worth it.
If Apple decided to start manufacturing its products in America according to the rules there, the prices of the devices would rise and the company's sales would decrease at the same time. Of course, neither customers nor shareholders would like that. However, it is true that Apple has such huge profits that it would be able to "tighten up" the production of its devices even on American territory without having to go bankrupt. So the question is why Apple doesn't do that. Everyone can answer it for themselves, but why earn less with "home" production, when it's even better "outside", right...?
Yes, it's terrible, but it's always been and always will be, and everyone in the world can't have it the same way.
I was never interested in any detail about the conditions in China, but this really took my breath away. Even though I like Apple products very much, this is hummus. And sorry, but Apple products are not at relatively affordable prices :) I would dare to say the same about Samsung.. But I would never buy it :)
Watch out. This is not Apple's fault, but Foxconn's. It's quite a mystification. Apple has absolutely no influence on how Foxconn behaves or how much it pays its employees.
It is true that if Apple had not pushed for such low production costs, maybe something would have changed. But why do it alone, when the competition would definitely not take this step?
I have to totally agree with you on that…
I think it doesn't matter which company it is, but this is how it goes everywhere in China. It's always been like that and probably always will be, and I agree with Tom about those prices, even though I own an IPhone :D
This would make me wonder how other brands are doing when they sell them at even lower prices and the production costs must be similar.
There are factories in China with much worse working conditions. By the way:
http://www.apple.com/supplierresponsibility/
I was quite amused by this, it looks like it's one of the best jobs.. Although on the one hand, if you work directly in Apple, maybe yes :)
Dear readers, Apple can try to comply with this - or rather try to tell, for example, Foxconn to comply with it, but they will only sign a couple of papers that it is being complied with, lubricate the control and do it their way :)
I do not believe that Apple (and any other company that has its products manufactured in China) could have such an influence (understand responsibility) on the operation of a foreign supplier company in a foreign territory. It should be remembered that regardless of the state establishment, Chinese companies are the most capitalist in the world, including all the disadvantages. In any case, I don't see a single reason why Apple should behave differently than its competitors. Of course, you have the right not to buy an Apple, but it is very likely that you will be left without a mobile phone and all electronics.
If most things were not made in China and in much worse conditions than those described here, you would not be able to buy not only electronics but also clothes and many other things that are made in Asia today for the money that is sold today. In principle, Apple does not need to be interested in who will do the production under what conditions, but that it will carry out the order in the required quality and for the agreed money. In theory, he is not interested in the rest, nor does he need to be. There was just unnecessary hype around it. When you order the construction of a turnkey barrack here from Czech companies, you also don't care what conditions the workers work there, and it is important to you that they hand over the finished building to you on time and according to the agreed quality.
I personally agree that it's hard to blame Apple for what conditions their supplier company sets. Rather, I have the feeling that a lot of people and a lot of companies have Apple very deep in their stomachs and so they are looking for any way to screw it up. And every such stimulus is very suitable for the shop.
Apple is Apple and Foxcon is Foxcon. So I don't understand what the author writes about Apple ordering harsh conditions during production. Apple asked the market for how much someone would make various components for iPads, iPhones, etc... Foxcon offered the best price, so he had it manufactured by them, that's all... Apple probably has nothing to do with the conditions at Foxcon...
I don't think this problem only affects Apple, it's really naive to think this. When Apple was in business, no one was interested in it, but now that it is in the limelight, it is a thorn in the side of the competition, because it not only earns, but also invests, and for that, of course, it needs a higher profit. Because development costs significantly more and it is not always worthwhile and successful. If I just copy others, I can afford a smaller profit, but even these companies produce in China.
The problem is in China, the workers are employed there, China must create decent conditions for its people. When the Olympics were there, they probably turned a "little" eye over the conditions there, Tibet, etc.
I had the feeling that he was talking about the company where, fortunately, I work at a higher position. But rank-and-file employees are like this:
– does not pay overtime
– there are no public holidays
– vacation is automatically shortened by 14 days (ORAVDU!!!) – just to increase productivity.
– severe financial penalties
– management steals approx. 2.000 liters of diesel DAILY!!
etc etc……..
This company with about 30 employees earns a MILLION DAILY after taxes!!!
Indeed - golden communists.
I sincerely feel sorry for all those who justify the inhumane conditions in Chinese factories with their own well-being and the need for low product prices. Most people probably cannot even understand what it is like to toil day in and day out just to have something to eat. I am not talking about the fact that when the workers in China finish their productive age, their health is so ruined that they suffer for the rest of their lives and medical care is just a utopia in their situation. The fact that employers in China create conditions similar to Hitler's arbeitslager during WW2. nobody here in the west cares much about wars, as long as it provides us with the comfort of ever lower prices and satisfies us
our whimsical need to buy a new product even when the old one has not yet caught up to tech. lifespan. However, the policy of all commercial companies depends on their customers, which makes them indirectly responsible for the conditions under which the products are produced.
Yes, it really is as \michal said. It's a deal between Apple and Foxconn. Apple may or may not know about it, under what conditions it will be produced there. However, if Apple were to play moralists, the Chinese would probably send them somewhere everyone knows :) and there would be no money.
By the way, Foxconn is also here in Pardubice. And I can confirm that these are almost the same galleys as back home in China. A person can get fucked there only for good behavior. mainly Ukrainians, Mongolians and Vietnamese live there
ad Čestmír Laskomilský
I completely agree with you, I would also like everyone to work in humane conditions and I would easily pay extra for this or that product.
But look at the things you have at home or what you write about in this discussion...
(China, Malaysia, etc.)
It's a problem, but not just at Foxconn.
It's disgusting, I wouldn't want to work there, but the article is totally misleading without wanting to offend Apple.
Mostly it was written here, so I'll just add that the minors are very happy to earn somewhere and don't throw them out because of their age, otherwise they would be beaten at home and thrown out for being useless.
All of this is simply China's problem, and large American companies can at least try to ease the conditions (and they are also trying to do so), but they don't have much influence on it. And I'm not going to make angels out of them, everyone wants to make money and Jobs didn't look too much at the workers when they still owned the factories, but don't forget that it's an agreement between two people and Foxcon and its management can say that it's simply not possible anymore. But those are the ones who line their pockets at the expense of the workers. For Apple, Microsoft and others, it's all about business and they also can't afford not to do what others do, it's stupid. Also, the recent incident with Foxcon workers on the roof trying to commit suicide happened to be in the Xbox section.
I don't think apple can do anything about it even if they wanted to. It's just business like everywhere else in the world. In our country, companies also squeeze the maximum out of people, simply what the law allows them to do. If the law were to change that there would be only one day off per year. So eventually everyone would just have a day off.
TO THINK ABOUT: Don't tell me that nowadays it is not possible to make a fully robotic line for the production of, for example, iPhones??? In the end, it's even cheaper than human power.
THOUGHTS 2: If apple made production lines, wouldn't hundreds of thousands of people starve to death in China?
1) iPhones change their design every two years and their components differ quite a bit, I am not entirely sure whether it would be worthwhile to "upgrade" the robotic lines to new models every two years...
Some people put it together as they say for a few small bucks, so there is no need to "upgrade"...
2) I don't think so, since I would employ most of them...but why carry the driv into the forest? A lot of suppliers already have factories like this and they can assemble the iPhones for a few small bucks, so I don't think this is a worthwhile investment for Apple.. if it started like that from the beginning, it might be a good step, but at a time when it produces millions of pieces per week/month ..?
so comrades, we have come to this. to capitalism of the 19th century according to March. tragically ironic that the "exploitative west" is incapable of real production under the weight of trade unions and social benefits, and the communist act behaves as during the industrial revolution.
but this is a superficial view, since it is about connected periods. in the west we haven't moved since the industrial revolution. it's just that we cleverly dismissed the production method somewhere where it can't be seen. to tin.
Apple's defense that it is foxxcon after all is ridiculous. yes, it is a subcontractor, but one that apple chooses. the conditions of the labor force in Asia have been known for a very long time, and Apple is aware that this is not the only case. it could easily be produced in the USA. yes, there are unions and benefits, and it would cost disproportionately more.
BUT: the USA also needs to return production to its territory. reducing unemployment in times of crisis, etc. is enough for both of them, and he himself urged Jobs to move production to the US. If Apple were to negotiate directly with the federal and local government, I think it would be able to use its power to lobby for tax breaks and possibly subsidies. obama is currently very wasteful and such a step would be very useful for the economy as well, it would set a precedent and after all, the elections are coming up.
the problem is that Jobs was simply too stubborn to reach such a compromise solution, and Apple's shareholders are currently disgustingly ignorant. apple has extreme profits, but beware that the next quarter might not be a record again. these records are currently cursed by apple. I strongly consider leadership by the necessity of continuous extreme growth.
I think reports like this are useful because they create pressure. just as the green lobby very successfully pushes for the use of green materials, the human rights lobby should push harder for the production and distribution process. in my opinion, it could be even more effective, because it is easier to empathize with a 12-year-old Chinese boy than with an ozone molecule.
the only thing that Apple can justify a little is that Foxxcon does not produce only for Apple. and all samsungs, sony, nike, adidas, ikea... (plus any multinational corporation) are produced under the same conditions. Apple is said to be a bit unfairly exclusive only because they are currently "in". but on the other hand, companies like Nike have been pressured in this regard since the 90s and it is pessimistic that there is no relevant improvement. because in the end, each of us buys our conscience with an iPad cheaper by 200 euros and says to ourselves "China is far away" "others are doing it too" "apple can't be blamed" and so on... including me. the beauty of apple products is indeed "magic"
Everyone produces there, but only Apple has double-digit margins. If he produced in the EU or the US, he would probably have the same profits as others who produce in China. And you don't like it, do you?
It's funny how these companies are hypocrites, they pretend to be moralists and at the same time they get the support of such a regime.
Yes, yes, that's how it is and it will be for a while, but it still follows that China is primarily to blame for this state of affairs, which practiced these conditions long before the boom of Western companies in their country. I don't know who was the first from the west to start using them, but due to competitiveness, others took to it. The situation is terrible, but I feel that thanks to these companies they are actually doing a little better. Before, we just didn't know where and under what conditions it lives and dies. It will go quite slowly, but eventually the situation will balance out again. Just like it was with us after the revolution when there was cheap labor and state incentives and companies flocked here. Today, on the other hand, even the Czech ones go to China.
The way I see it is that the problem is mainly that social responsibility is in the hands of those who build profits. Profit is what keeps us all moving forward. Be it Frant Flint or APPLE. It's about what people buy, not where it was made and what the production cost was. APPLE has shown that it can sell things that are expensive, so it's not just at a low price. The leading brands of the fashion industry have long been responsible and oversee the origin of their products, for example LOUIS VUITTON simply does not sew in China. Controversy over the competition, whether it would be the same in China with or without APPLE is nonsense. Would it be the same, YES. However, what is the competition for APPLE? After all, neither iPAD nor iPhone is the best product in the world. Only the APPLU ecosystem makes these devices TOP products. It is the position of APPLU that should be binding and should impose social and moral responsibility at least for the conditions in which products are produced that ensure revenues from electronic sales of applications and programs. We all know that drug dealers are only as successful as they have buyers. On every DVD there is information that by buying pirated copies we support thieves and here I see the problem and here I am ashamed that I actually support them by buying iPads, iPhones. It is a shame.
Everyone wants responsibility from Apple, viz. article and other similar nonsense on the net, but where are the other, mostly less successful phones made???!!! It's a bunch of nonsense stemming most often from the failure of competition, that's for sure!
Yes, excellent! A similar mindset is indicative of maturity. Everyone's doing it, so it's okay - HURRY LET'S DO IT TOO!
Labeling what you labeled stupid shows the integrity of your personality.
Well, Apple also has margins, who should be the first to set an example, and it is he who, as it is overpriced, would not lose money when leaving (it would probably destroy some others)
I think Apple could sell 'fair trade' if it wanted to, and many of its supporters are the types who would happily pay for it. I haven't read Steve Jobs's book, but I'm guessing it doesn't say much about the conditions of workers in Apple's factories, does it?
exactly. the fact that the latter do it too is an alibism. apple is really proud of the fact that it is NOT like the others and that it offers the BEST products.
The iPod and iPhone were both the blessing and the curse of Apple. from a premium brand, it simply becomes "first among equals" due to the pressure of shareholders, and apart from a nice design, nothing separates them from the competition for a while.
I wish apple a profit, both iPad and iPod and iPhone, but not at any price and not at all at the price of what apple does with what it is. because in no time the generation of people who associate it with premiumness will "die out" and all that will remain is a brand without relevant content. you can see it in the declining quality of the products.
the fact that the competition is right is no justification, apple has far better revenues and margins than the competition. he even has so much money that he could buy a sony.
it's all just a matter of customer pressure, without it apple wouldn't even want to be "green", that also costs money and if it's more green than the competition, it means they put more money into it. something tells me that even if he invested in fair trade, it wouldn't have an impact on profits either. at the same time, you don't even have to move to the USA with production. all you have to do is make a PR out of it, deploy "work conditions inspectors" made by apple in every plant that assembles products, and everything would be taken care of.
however, when you project the total price, development and distribution consume more than production. and as I wrote, it would be great PR and they would gain some new customers.
it's been here before, but just to be sure
http://www.apple.com/supplierresponsibility/
I'll put it this way. You don't have to go to China to find people who work inhumanely. Be aware that when you commission someone to make something, you set the quality and they propose a price. If you agree, it's not about com. Does anyone think that when you give a company €100 for one iPhone instead of €150, they will distribute it among people? Try to think about how much and how many hours a Slovak or Czech and how much a German or Austrian works for.
This article is completely flawed because it bashes Apple for making its components in China and that it should be made in the US and make less profit. But this has an inverted logic, because China benefits from its competitiveness on the market thanks to cheap labor, and thanks to it, investments, such as those from Apple, flow into the country. And thus, on the contrary, it helps the Chinese, it is to his benefit (the article tries to suggest to the reader the opposite impression that Apple is very harmful to the Chinese worker). Thanks to the competitiveness gained by cheap labor, the Chinese have a better job (due to the fact that foreign companies invest in the country) and are a little richer. The alternative would be that he would have a lower paying job and under worse conditions, or perhaps he would have no job at all. But this was not appropriate to say to the authors of the article.
Wanting Apple to have the same conditions in its factories in China as it does in the US (including salaries, because in the article they dwell on how Apple pays its employees in China worse than in the US) is also complete nonsense. If that were the case, why would Apple ship components halfway across the globe when it could make them in the US under the same conditions and save on shipping? Or, under such conditions, the Chinese would lose competitiveness due to cheap labor.
Another series of logically flawed arguments constantly compare factory conditions in China and the US. But that is also nonsense. If you were to force China to make a leap (when should it happen? To what level and why right now, when economic development from a poor to a developed country is an extremely long-term process) to introduce conditions like in the most economically developed countries, then you are actually preventing China from economic development. But by what right? After all, Western economies also developed to their current economically advanced state also thanks to the fact that they had worse working conditions at a lower level of development. These are always given by the given level of economic development of the country and determine what the given country can afford in terms of the working conditions. You can't forcefully and from the outside impose other conditions that don't correspond to the economy, because you will harm the Chinese on the contrary. They will lose competitiveness and no one will invest in that country.
Finally someone pointed it out. The factory in Shenzhen employs 430 thousand people !! If we stop buying, as many "moralists" suggest, then in this city alone 430 people will end up on the pavement. What to think about the fact that there is no other work and thus a way of livelihood in China? If there was, no one would make Apple because no one would volunteer to work in such a factory. And the comparison to the labor camps during the Second World War seems very stupid to me if only because no one voluntarily went to the camp. So, thanks to "evil Apple and us who bought some device", a few people have a chance to eat.
What else, Czech hypocrites will defend capitalist criminals. I'm sick of you. You deserve to be given a hand by a few Chinese workers, then you might wake up from your capitalist dream.