ABC Previews 'Nightline' Visit to Foxconn's Chinese Factories

MacRumors · Feb 20, 2012

Over the weekend, ABC announced that it had been granted exclusive access to Foxconn's factories in China where the company assembled products for Apple, with the segment scheduled to air on a special edition of Nightline on Tuesday night.

ABC has now posted a preview of the segment, along with a teaser video from Nightline co-anchor Bill Weir.

Apple promised complete access, no dog-and-pony, no Potemkin Village, but they denied my repeated requests to interview Apple CEO Tim Cook or the senior vice president of industrial design, Jony Ive.

In a three-golf-cart convoy, both Apple and Foxconn reps took us around to a half dozen production lines in Shenzhen and Chengdu, and there were always five to six people with us as we toured the factories and dorms. But aside from suggesting a visit to the counseling center or canteen, they never steered us to interviews and never interrupted.

The extensive preview offers comments from several Foxconn employees, as well as Louis Woo, a former Apple executive who now serves as an advisor to Foxconn CEO Terry Gou, and Fair Labor Association president Auret van Heerden.

Nightline's "iFactory: Inside Apple" segment airs tomorrow, February 21, at 11:35 PM Eastern and Pacific on ABC.

Article Link: ABC Previews 'Nightline' Visit to Foxconn's Chinese Factories

tjcampbell · Feb 20, 2012

I'm looking forward to this.

Nielsenius · Feb 20, 2012

Can't wait to watch this. I guess we'll see how the conditions inside these factories really are.

grimmace · Feb 20, 2012

Were they making iPad3 while he was walking around?

d4rkc4sm · Feb 20, 2012

why isnt there this same level of scrutiny of america's chicken farms?

djrod · Feb 20, 2012

Any chance of seeing it outside the US?

smellalot · Feb 20, 2012

This seems pretty interesting. Does anybody know a way to watch this in germany? Maybe stream online?

BobbyRond · Feb 20, 2012

I wonder if Samsung will be watching.

djrod · Feb 20, 2012

d4rkc4sm said:
why isnt there this same level of scrutiny of america's chicken farms?

There are more Apple haters than chicken farms haters

*LTD* · Feb 20, 2012

Story is getting old.

But it's an Apple story, so it's got serious legs.

DaDalle · Feb 20, 2012

I'd really like to see this! But sadly I live in Germany.. Does ABC-News stream this or post this on their website?

jwm2 · Feb 20, 2012

Sounds like Iraq and North Korea tours to me. This won't reveal much, other then how much the employees LOVE working for apple and sing songs while they work praising the work environments, benefits and pay. LOL

kingtj · Feb 20, 2012

Uh ...

Is there a scandal I missed about poor working conditions and pay for chicken farm workers?

Or wait, did you just imply that a Chinese laborer and a chicken, about to be killed for our dinner, should be treated equivalently?

d4rkc4sm said:
why isnt there this same level of scrutiny of america's chicken farms?

caddisfly · Feb 20, 2012

now lets see a tour of....

the processing facilities of a subcontractor who is processing chicken, cattle, pork for any big meat companies in the US market

or any of the subcontractors who are making toys for walmart, costco, target, etc for the US market

or any subcontractors who are picking your fruit and veggies that you eat every day

or any of the subcontractors who makes your clothing

...let alone the other computer manufacturers

if this is something you want Apple to feel "shame" about or get "blame", look in the mirror

Digital Skunk · Feb 20, 2012

d4rkc4sm said:
why isnt there this same level of scrutiny of america's chicken farms?

Glad to see you care more about chickens than people. There hasn't been a large number of humans committing suicide at chicken farms.

I hope Nightline talks about the quality of life. Making $1.78 an hour seems about right, but how are they living?

Lesser Evets · Feb 20, 2012

I like how the media tries to point to Apple and make people blame Apple. You can blame Apple for using Foxconn, if there are strange work practices, but you can blame a bunch of other major electronics people as well. Apple doesn't own Foxconn, it pays them to make the product.

There is this ignorant perception that Apple manages, owns, controls, and whips slaves down in the Foxconn building. If you follow the media, you'd think Steve Jobs is resurrected and eating the food denied to Foxconn people by their evil Apple overlord.

Hey. Work laws are different in different countries. Get used to it. This isn't McEarth.

markcres · Feb 20, 2012

djrod said:
There are more Apple haters than chicken farms haters

Interesting that you should class any person who finds slave labour/exploitation abhorrent as an 'Apple hater'. Maybe you are one of these Steve Jobs worshipping 'fanboys' I keep hearing about. Remember these things are just pretty shiny gadgets...nothing more...a mobile telephone and a small computer - that's all they are. The people who make them are real human beings like you and me. They deserve to be treated better that $1.50 an hour.

WillFisher · Feb 20, 2012

I have a horrible feeling this is just going to be showing everyone what Foxconn wants us to see.
But either way, it should be quite interesting.
Any news of anyway for the UK audience to watch?

Tones2 · Feb 20, 2012

caddisfly said:
the processing facilities of a subcontractor who is processing chicken, cattle, pork for any big meat companies in the US market

or any of the subcontractors who are making toys for walmart, costco, target, etc for the US market

or any subcontractors who are picking your fruit and veggies that you eat every day

or any of the subcontractors who makes your clothing

...let alone the other computer manufacturers

if this is something you want Apple to feel "shame" about or get "blame", look in the mirror

What others are doing has no relevance to the Foxconn situation - if it's bad it should be stopped. If it's not, then no worries. It shouldn't be OK to get away with terrible conditions just because others are getting away with terrible conditions.

Tony

Jobsian · Feb 20, 2012

Lesser Evets said:
I like how the media tries to point to Apple and make people blame Apple. You can blame Apple for using Foxconn, if there are strange work practices, but you can blame a bunch of other major electronics people as well. Apple doesn't own Foxconn, it pays them to make the product.

There is this ignorant perception that Apple manages, owns, controls, and whips slaves down in the Foxconn building. If you follow the media, you'd think Steve Jobs is resurrected and eating the food denied to Foxconn people by their evil Apple overlord.

Hey. Work laws are different in different countries. Get used to it. This isn't McEarth.

It doesn't matter who's carrying the whip: if, big if, there is inhumane practice, and you perpetuate and support its practice, you're at least partly culpable too.

applesith · Feb 20, 2012

Let's hope they put the Foxconn salaries in context. Living over there does not cost anywhere as much as living here in the US or Europe.

Digital Skunk · Feb 20, 2012

Lesser Evets said:
I like how the media tries to point to Apple and make people blame Apple. You can blame Apple for using Foxconn, if there are strange work practices, but you can blame a bunch of other major electronics people as well. Apple doesn't own Foxconn, it pays them to make the product.

There is this ignorant perception that Apple manages, owns, controls, and whips slaves down in the Foxconn building. If you follow the media, you'd think Steve Jobs is resurrected and eating the food denied to Foxconn people by their evil Apple overlord.

Hey. Work laws are different in different countries. Get used to it. This isn't McEarth.

No one is blaming Apple, but if Apple knows what's going on and still contracts Foxconn then it is a major concern for Apple buyers, stock holders and so forth. They are the most popular tech company, and that title will come with more responsibility in human rights and the environment.

Warbrain · Feb 20, 2012

Digital Skunk said:
Glad to see you care more about chickens than people. There hasn't been a large number of humans committing suicide at chicken farms.

There was never a large number of suicides. The suicide rate of Foxconn workers is below that of China.

CmdrLaForge · Feb 20, 2012

I sure hope they put the full video on the web once it was aired.

Warbrain · Feb 20, 2012

Digital Skunk said:
No one is blaming Apple, but if Apple knows what's going on and still contracts Foxconn then it is a major concern for Apple buyers, stock holders and so forth. They are the most popular tech company, and that title will come with more responsibility in human rights and the environment.

There wasn't this attention on Dell, HP, IBM, or any other manufacturer and still isn't when it should be on the industry as a whole, not one company.

ABC Previews 'Nightline' Visit to Foxconn's Chinese Factories

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