iPod Factories Called Into Question

[Dejon]

iPod factories called into question

There is a good chance that the iPod you're holding was made by a female factory worker who owns less than $50 a month, the UK's Mail on Sunday reported this past weekend.

Chinese manufacturer Foxconn makes the majority of iPods and employs and houses some 200,000 workers at its LongHua plant. Females are said to be favored over males because they are more honest, the story—which is not available—said, quoting a security guard at the site. Work days typically run 15 hours long.

Apple issued a statement in response to the story Wednesday, saying it was looking into the report.

"Apple is committed to ensuring that working conditions in our supply chain are safe, workers are treated with respect and dignity, and manufacturing processes are environmentally responsible," the statement said, according to

Macworld UK.

Apple added that "it does not tolerate any violations of its supplier code of conduct, which is posted online." The code of conduct was implemented in 2005.

Think Secret

[Randolph]

Wow. Thats crazy!

[techbeck]

yet another reason I dont and will never own an iPod

[qdave]

doesnt bother me much as long as ipods are cheap and the wage is not bellow the minimum (ie. enough to make a living)

[Elliot B.]

Owned :laugh:

[grimman]

Hopefully I'm getting mine this week. ^^

[Fili]

doesnt bother me much as long as ipods are cheap and the wage is not bellow the minimum (ie. enough to make a living)

less than $50 a month

[Chadwick]

ok but this is a situation where something that sounds very radical is being taken out of context.

for all you know 50 dollars a month is a great job in the area they live, we have no clue what the standard of living is in that area, whether its good or bad, your comparing this to our salaries here which isn't apples to apples.

if you go to certain areas of the US you can buy a house for 100,000 that would cost 500,000 somewhere else, everything is relevent.

NOT TO MENTION how many other companies manufacture their goods in the same way, clothing, other electronics, etc. and if you recall its always the same story, ever take the 2 seconds to realize that maybe it isn't concidence that these pay rolls are so low? that instead thats just how it is over there?

[nicedreams]

Do you at least know anyone in America that can live on minimum wage? I had to work 2 jobs until I got my career started and it was the hardest time of my life working those 2 jobs to pay the bills and school made it worse. Living with 3 other people to make rent cheaper sucks too. I bet it's more to live in China.

[slyph]

if this is true and the whole thing is corrected then since labor costs will be more. so will the iPods. so quickly buy them while they are "cheap" <-- laugh.

[Chanser]

We all know most made in China mass-produced items is made by low paid workers.

[Fourjays Veteran]

I don't like Apple or the iPod, but this has been blown a bit out of proportion I think. As mentioned above, all of it is relative to the area and in addition, many products are manufactured in China anyway, so it isn't like Apple are the first.

[revvo]

yet another reason I dont and will never own an iPod

A stupid reason, not a valid one.

At least half of the junk anywhere is MADE IN CHINA and that you can almost assume immediatly that they are underpayed for outrageous hours. There was no surprise here. Communism is ****ed, you see?

[velocity3k]

Is anyone actually surprised by this?, pretty much all electronic equipment these days is manufactured in China and the reason you can get a dvd player for $29.99 is because they cut down on the cost of manufacturing by lowering wages and having longer hours.

[cptcaveman2004]

Think Secret

wow its cheaper to own a female factory worker than an ipod....

ok but this is a situation where something that sounds very radical is being taken out of context.

if you go to certain areas of the US you can buy a house for 100,000 that would cost 500,000 somewhere else, everything is relevent.

just to clarify, i think you meant everything is relative.

[myNando]

...As mentioned above, all of it is relative to the area and in addition, many products are manufactured in China anyway, so it isn't like Apple are the first.

Very true. You could have a crappy-paying job here in the US or wherever you are but if you go to one of those places in China, you'll might live like a friggin' king!...using the money you've earned here.

P.S. I'd like to thank Ming Ling and Lu Xiou for their time spent into putting together my two iPods.

[struct]

rofl Filicide, nice comparison

[SaLiVa]

The blame goes to the government. The companies are just exploiting the system of the country. It's all business, no question of ethics, or morals. Just all about money.

Blame should also go to us consumers who want everything cheap... So either way, Apple (and many other big name companies) are screwed.

[pacifica]

yet another reason I dont and will never own an iPod

what about most of the clothes you're wearing? right attitude but cheap labor is a truth we cannot escape.

big businesses want more of your money so they move jobs offshore and pay people less to make decent quality products out of parts supplied by vendors with the lowest bid sold to you at astronomically inflated prices.

what makes it even worse is that our wants and desires fuel the need for such labor. businesses (actually, it's the folks at the top) don't want to lower their profits margins. they spend money anually thinking up ways to invent new products and new strategies that will get you to buy even more products.

change the color, put a new label on it, call it 'limited edition', have a band endorse it and people snatch 'em up.

[+LogicalApex MVC]

ok but this is a situation where something that sounds very radical is being taken out of context.

for all you know 50 dollars a month is a great job in the area they live, we have no clue what the standard of living is in that area, whether its good or bad, your comparing this to our salaries here which isn't apples to apples.

if you go to certain areas of the US you can buy a house for 100,000 that would cost 500,000 somewhere else, everything is relevent.

NOT TO MENTION how many other companies manufacture their goods in the same way, clothing, other electronics, etc. and if you recall its always the same story, ever take the 2 seconds to realize that maybe it isn't concidence that these pay rolls are so low? that instead thats just how it is over there?

The age old excuse that comes out of the need to justify our actions as a society, exploiting others for our own gain.

The basic biblical principal is the best way to guage when you are doing something justly... "Do unto others as you would have done unto you"...

Sure paying someone 1/3rd of the minimum salary in the US may be fine there (provided they can live well enough off of it), but making them work extremly long hours in ****ty conditions? If we wouldn't allow it to occur in our coutry we should not be allowing companies from our country to do those actions elsewhere... That biblical principal i mentioned earlier.

I wish people would stop trying to find ways to justify our hypocritic and disgusting way of thinking and actually start working towards solutions. If your Apple will earn $5 less in profit off their iPOD, because they treat workers with even the basic level of human rights then so be it. If your iPOD costs you $5 more at the store than so be it the thing is over priced anyways...

P.S. I'd like to thank Ming Ling and Lu Xiou for their time spent into putting together my two iPods.

Comments like that make me sad to be an American a lot of times...

No respect for others... No less than disgusting...

[madnuke]

True theres a cheaper standard of living in China but I think its disgusting that the device they sell costs more than a persons monthly wages. I think its disgusting some people in the thread of the coments they have made I hope you get fired and have to go work at McDonalds and the only promotion you will get is the 3 stars on your badge.

[Chadwick]

The age old excuse that comes out of the need to justify our actions as a society, exploiting others for our own gain.

The basic biblical principal is the best way to guage when you are doing something justly... "Do unto others as you would have done unto you"...

Sure paying someone 1/3rd of the minimum salary in the US may be fine there (provided they can live well enough off of it), but making them work extremly long hours in ****ty conditions? If we wouldn't allow it to occur in our coutry we should not be allowing companies from our country to do those actions elsewhere... That biblical principal i mentioned earlier.

I wish people would stop trying to find ways to justify our hypocritic and disgusting way of thinking and actually start working towards solutions. If your Apple will earn $5 less in profit off their iPOD, because they treat workers with even the basic level of human rights then so be it. If your iPOD costs you $5 more at the store than so be it the thing is over priced anyways...

Comments like that make me sad to be an American a lot of times...

No respect for others... No less than disgusting...

Don't bring religion into this, I hate when people do that, it has no relevance to this situation and although your personal beliefs may influence you post in reality nobody really cares.

The simple fact is that its a totally different situation over there, you can't compare it as apples to apples. By your post we should also look at 3rd world countries where money as we know it isn't used and critisize how little they are being paid. There are still areas where people use shells and other materials, and to us, we might not spend 2 cents on that currency but to those people its worth more.

Lets see an interview with someone from that factory, with people from that town and other businesses around that area. You can't be so generic and say "they are getting less for the same work."

[myNando]

P.S. I'd like to thank Ming Ling and Lu Xiou for their time spent into putting together my two iPods.

Comments like that make me sad to be an American a lot of times...

No respect for others... No less than disgusting...

I can say that, I'm 1/2 Chinese. :p My cousins are Lu Xiou and Ming Ling... :D

[MiG-]

this is pretty old news, a more detailed story:

Apple's iPods are made by mainly female workers who earn as little as ?27 per month, according to a report in the Mail on Sunday yesterday.

The report, 'iPod City', isn't available online. It offers photographs taken from inside the factories that make Apple music players, situated in China and owned by Foxconn.

The Mail visited some of these factories and spoke with staff there. It reports that Foxconn's Longhua plant houses 200,000 workers, remarking: "This iPod City has a population bigger than Newcastle's."

The report claims Longhua's workers live in dormitories that house 100 people, and that visitors from the outside world are not permitted. Workers toil for 15-hours a day to make the iconic music player, the report claims. They earn ?27 per month. The report reveals that the iPod nano is made in a five-storey factory (E3) that is secured by police officers.

Another factory in Suzhou, Shanghai, makes iPod shuffles. The workers are housed outside the plant, and earn ?54 per month - but they must pay for their accommodation and food, "which takes up half their salaries", the report observes.

A security guard told the Mail reporters that the iPod shuffle production lines are staffed by women workers because "they are more honest than male workers".

The report also explains that the nano contains 400 parts, and that its flash memory is the most expensive component. The report looks at several salient components of the nano, and describes the product as a reflecting the global way business works today. This is because the iPod nano contains parts developed by technology companies from across the planet.

Apple is just one of thousands of companies that now use Chinese facilities to manufacture its products, the report observes. Low wages, long hours and China's industrial secrecy make the country attractive to business, particularly as increased competition and consumer expectations force companies to deliver products at attractive prices.

Sounds good doesn't it? yet the ipod is still v.expensive in comparison with labour costs, it should be cheap as chips to make.

[+LogicalApex MVC]

Don't bring religion into this, I hate when people do that, it has no relevance to this situation and although your personal beliefs may influence you post in reality nobody really cares.

The simple fact is that its a totally different situation over there, you can't compare it as apples to apples. By your post we should also look at 3rd world countries where money as we know it isn't used and critisize how little they are being paid. There are still areas where people use shells and other materials, and to us, we might not spend 2 cents on that currency but to those people its worth more.

Lets see an interview with someone from that factory, with people from that town and other businesses around that area. You can't be so generic and say "they are getting less for the same work."

Wasn't attempting to bring religion into the debate was simply mentioning something that is really just common sense on the moral scale.

I'm not Christian or anything more than Agnostic so i seek not to make this a religious discussion...

Simple point i wanted to make... If we won't work under those conditions ourselves, we should not be forcing others to. In my honest opinion that is the most elementary of concepts if we call ourselves a moral and civilized society.