Flextronics Hiring 1,700 Workers in Austin for 'Next Generation Desktop Computer', Likely New Mac Pro

[koban4max]

apple is officially lame... hiring workers? WTH did they do all this time? limited availability...

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If you read it all, you'll see they already have 879 and will be adding 815 if things work out.

Good stuff. I may not be in the US myself, but I hope this takes off big time so they can ramp that number up even further. It's all good for the industry.

it doesn't mean there are 879 workers...it just means availability.

 

[paul4339]

Why doesn't Apple build its own assembly facility...

Always relying on third party is sad, with the money they have...

They're finally bringing production of something back to the USA, and they are sending it out to a contracted builder...

It's speculated that Apple does underwrite the building of the assembly facilities (machinery) ... especially if it has strategic manufacturing components. Then they contracted out the work to manufacturing specialists like Flextronics. They can then elect not to renew their contract and phase in a new contractor in, while still owning any strategic equipment/facilities.

The better question to ask is why would Apple want to go into the assembly business? What's the risk if they don't? How easy it to replace the contractor if their business arrangement doesn't work out and how would they recover if they have do so? etc..

.

 

[Big Dave]

Here's my issue with the latest mac pro.. The design restricts its power as far as processing cores goes. You can only get 12 cores with this thing, so with hyperthreading you get 24. The machine is beautiful but I just got an ugly HP with 20 cores (40 with hyperthreading). Granted I am using Linux instead of OSX which I prefer, but I thought the whole point of the PRO tag was to build a powerful workstation with the latest and greatest hardware. I think Apple should create a pro division and keep the gear away from the artsy designers.

 

[nastri83]

Here's my issue with the latest mac pro.. The design restricts its power as far as processing cores goes. You can only get 12 cores with this thing, so with hyperthreading you get 24. The machine is beautiful but I just got an ugly HP with 20 cores (40 with hyperthreading). Granted I am using Linux instead of OSX which I prefer, but I thought the whole point of the PRO tag was to build a powerful workstation with the latest and greatest hardware. I think Apple should create a pro division and keep the gear away from the artsy designers.

I second this. I want the new mac pro, but I would LOVE a 2U form factor. As a musician that uses a mac for live performances, a rackmount form factor makes so much sense. It makes sense in many, many different fields actually.

 

[Rad99004]

1700 employees for Mac pro only, I don't think so.

 

[Constable Odo]

The new facility can't be for the new Mac Pro. The computer industry pundits have already said it's a retarded design and no one is going to buy a computer shaped like a trash-can. Most of the analysts have already said it was going to be the biggest failed product from Apple since the Cube because you can't fit square parts into round hole.

/s

 

[TallManNY]

Just release it already!
I got some end of the year corporate purchases and I'd rather not buy the old Mac Pro just before the new one comes out!

Looks like you are in luck if you can hold of your purchases until mid-December. Launch should be in November and hopefully it won't be supply constrained.

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1700 employees for Mac pro only, I don't think so.

That does seem like a lot doesn't it. How many Mac Pro sales are they expecting? 2,000 per month? Seems like a factory with a 1,700 employees should be able to make hundreds of Mac Pros a day. But I'm pulling numbers out of my . . . .

It just does seem like a lot of employees when one assumes that much of the assembly is automated and each part is made somewhere else as well.

 

[JayCee842]

That's a beautiful trash can. I can't wait to get my hands on it!

 

[4nNtt]

It's usually cheaper to contract out and the quality is the same or higher than what Apple could do by itself (at least initially). Assembly is easy. If they continue to grow, it's likely that they could build their own facilities but that's a huge risk to dump a lot of money into. Money is better spent elsewhere than building and running assembly facilities.

It isn't clear that this is just assembly. Doesn't Apple manufacture the cases in the assembly plant overseas? Probably the same here. Besides they probably don't want to be in that business.

 

[handsome pete]

Here's my issue with the latest mac pro.. The design restricts its power as far as processing cores goes. You can only get 12 cores with this thing, so with hyperthreading you get 24. The machine is beautiful but I just got an ugly HP with 20 cores (40 with hyperthreading). Granted I am using Linux instead of OSX which I prefer, but I thought the whole point of the PRO tag was to build a powerful workstation with the latest and greatest hardware. I think Apple should create a pro division and keep the gear away from the artsy designers.

Another problem I see id you're not only limited to 12 actual cores, but you'll also have to pay a premium for them too.

 

[ChrisA]

Why doesn't Apple build its own assembly facility...

Always relying on third party is sad, with the money they have...

They're finally bringing production of something back to the USA, and they are sending it out to a contracted builder...

Remember Foxconn has 1.23 million employees while Apple has 50,000. Foxconn is about 25 times larger then Apple in terms of the number of people. In terms of money Foxcon is larger too they took in well over a Trillion dollars last year to Apple's Billions.

Also Apple uses more companies, not just Foxcon to build product.

third party manufacturing allows the people who build the products to even out their work by building stuff for many companies. This factor makes stuff for Apple Moterola and many others so they can keep there employees and facilities busy. An Apple only factory would be having big layoffs and hiring twice a year

An example. Apple decided to double the number of gold iPhones made. If they were Apple employees making the iPhone then Apple would have to some how find a way to hire double the number of employees for just 4 or 6 months and then what to do with those people after that? But a huge company like Foxcon that makes products for Apple, Dell, and many others can shift around a few hundred people for one assembly line to another. The bigger company with it's 1.2 million employees has huge "surge" capabilities that Apple would never have.

 

[s2mikey]

Am I seeing this right? Jobs here in the USA? Not at some Chinese roach motel? Saaaahhhhhweeeeeeet.

 

[ThunderSkunk]

Why doesn't Apple build its own assembly facility...

It's risk. Even with all the money in the world, manufacturing in USA comes with a mountain of potentially ship-sinking risk. It's best to separate the mfg businesses entirely, and that's most often best done by leaving it to an established company that has a history of mfg success here.

Everybody hates it, but this is the reality that thousands of lawyers and insurance companies have made. And it's something we can thank every politician from Reagan til now for equally making worse.

 

[argybargy]

Yeah, that's it

They must have done their homework and seen it as much less expense to try this out with a 3rd party manufacturer, as opposed to building a huge facility, and managing all of the employees and equipment themselves.

I'm sure it's the cheapest way to get it done, and by that I mean by not employing the workers, but by contracting with them. The MacPro is such a low-margin product, that Apple couldn't really afford to hire people, right? I mean, it's simply a plastic tube with some ports and stuff?

I'm probably in the minority that wishes they were doing the assembly themselves. And based on the amount of manufacturing, including high-tech, that is currently idle in the US, I think they could have bought/leased an existing facility pretty easily.

 

[scott911]

Has anyone come out with a hard drive holder - maybe something circular that sits underneath the cylinder?

Would be nice to have a lip to hold mac in place, and some sort of clever cable connector to reduce the mess-o-cables that this design is going to be surrounded by...

 

[ChrisA]

That does seem like a lot doesn't it. How many Mac Pro sales are they expecting? 2,000 per month? Seems like a factory with a 1,700 employees should be able to make hundreds of Mac Pros a day. But I'm pulling numbers out of my . . . .

It just does seem like a lot of employees when one assumes that much of the assembly is automated and each part is made somewhere else as well.

No, you have it right. Look at the retail price of the Mac Pro. Lets guess the average MP del for $2,400. We now the parts will cost about $1,200 and the llabler to assemble the product must be a VERY generous 20% of the parts cost. So let's say $240.

This plant is in TX, this is the land of low paying jobs so let's assume an assembly line worker there makes $14 per hour andhas an overhead cost of another $14 per hour or $30/hour.

So I think we might have about 8 of labor going into each Mac Pro. So one average each person makes one MP per day. So 1,000 workers really might crank out 1000 machines per day. I could be off by a factor or two or so but not by a factor of 10. There can not be $2400 of labor in a MPand there most be more then $24 of labor in each one.. I'm guess about about $240

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They're only hiring workers now? I thought this thing was supposed to be available soon. So much for an October 22nd release.

Yes. Exactly. They are NOT being hired to produce the MP. The are being hired to make something else, maybe not even an Apple product.

 

[ThunderSkunk]

Here's my issue with the latest mac pro.. The design restricts its power as far as processing cores goes... Apple should create a pro division and keep the gear away from the artsy designers.

Agreed. I'd rather hoped they'd go with something that made a little more sense. A modular stack or mini rackmount or something, made sleek and beautiful.

Still, I'll buy a couple of these, simply because they're made here.
I wonder how long before trash starts appearing in their opening.

 

[ObsidianIce]

I don't think you're really aware of how hard it is to do manufacturing. You don't just hire people off the street to do it. There is a massive amount of training, staffing, equipment, and more, in a very specialized area. One that changes often as products change. That would be an entirely new business Are that Apple was entering...one that would not really increase their income. And whether it's contracted or not...It's still hiring 3600 people here in the US. Honestly who cares if their paystub says Apple or Flextronics?

Why doesn't Apple build its own assembly facility...

Always relying on third party is sad, with the money they have...

They're finally bringing production of something back to the USA, and they are sending it out to a contracted builder...

 

[barkmonster]

"Next Generation Desktop Computer"

This is why I hate Apple marketing. When was the last time you saw an ad for a "Next Generation Mac Truck"?

The marketing of a computer and a truck are different though.

This is next generation through and through and they're right marketing that way.

Does the current generation have this?: -

PCIe Flash with 1,200Mb/s speeds?
The most recent 12 and 8 core XEON CPUs?
Thunderbolt 2?
USB 3.0?

Nope. But the next generation does!

 

[ersatzplanet]

I wonder if Apple enlarging its presence in Texas will have any effect on the number of frivolous copyright lawsuits that are done there - probably not. One can hope that the judges might get swayed if a lawsuit may result in the loss of a bunch of jobs in their state.

 

[ChrisA]

Here's my issue with the latest mac pro.. The design restricts its power as far as processing cores goes. You can only get 12 cores with this thing, so with hyperthreading you get 24. The machine is beautiful but I just got an ugly HP with 20 cores (40 with hyperthreading). Granted I am using Linux instead of OSX which I prefer, but I thought the whole point of the PRO tag was to build a powerful workstation with the latest and greatest hardware. I think Apple should create a pro division and keep the gear away from the artsy designers.

The person who buys a MP is going to be running Apple software. What Apple software can use more than 12 cores or needs more then 12 cores? The only one I can think of is Compressor.

But Compressor has the ability to reach over the network and "outsource" work onto other computers. So a big shop might buy a dozen Mac Pros and make 144 cores available to the network.

I think the Mac Pro was really design NOT for cooling or the way it looks for for LOW COST assembly. The design is VERY simple to build as there seam to be no cables. All the parts scrww to a central frame and then a one piece round cover goes over the top. Something like 8 simple steps to build one of these. and none of these steps requires any highly skilled workers. Not only is this MP cheap to assemble but it is TINY. Transportation costs will be 1/3rd of the current Mac Pro and Apple stores willl be able to fit in a good inventory in 1/3rd the space.

SO these "artsy" designers were really smart and got the costs way down with this design.

 

[ObsidianIce]

Remember Foxconn has 1.23 million employees while Apple has 50,000. Foxconn is about 25 times larger then Apple in terms of the number of people. In terms of money Foxcon is larger too they took in well over a Trillion dollars last year to Apple's Billions.

Also Apple uses more companies, not just Foxcon to build product.

third party manufacturing allows the people who build the products to even out their work by building stuff for many companies. This factor makes stuff for Apple Moterola and many others so they can keep there employees and facilities busy. An Apple only factory would be having big layoffs and hiring twice a year

An example. Apple decided to double the number of gold iPhones made. If they were Apple employees making the iPhone then Apple would have to some how find a way to hire double the number of employees for just 4 or 6 months and then what to do with those people after that? But a huge company like Foxcon that makes products for Apple, Dell, and many others can shift around a few hundred people for one assembly line to another. The bigger company with it's 1.2 million employees has huge "surge" capabilities that Apple would never have.

You are horribly wrong in relation to revenue. Last year Apple had more revenue that Foxconn. Foxconn isn't close to trillions....You misread whatever you looked at. Keep in mind that Foxconn revenue isn't stated in US dollars...you have to convert it from NT$. in NT$ they make trillions...not US...

 

[Reason077]

Would be nice to have a lip to hold mac in place, and some sort of clever cable connector to reduce the mess-o-cables that this design is going to be surrounded by...

For most of us, there is going to be far, far less cable clutter than there were in the bad old days.

Small peripherals like keyboards and mice are all wireless now. Your Thunderbolt, USB, and Firewire devices can all be daisy-chained off your monitor. And 802.11ac WiFi has throughput comparable to Gigabit Ethernet - good enough for even many pro users.

IMO, if there are more than 2 cables directly connected to your 2013 Mac Pro (More if you really need Ethernet or have *serious* external storage requirements), then you're doing it wrong.

 

[handsome pete]

Has anyone come out with a hard drive holder - maybe something circular that sits underneath the cylinder?

Would be nice to have a lip to hold mac in place, and some sort of clever cable connector to reduce the mess-o-cables that this design is going to be surrounded by...

Doubtful, since I'm sure Apple hasn't sent out many test units (if any) to 3rd party companies.

Also, the new design seems to draw air from the bottom and exhausts from the top. Would you really want something that generates heat (even a small amount) sitting directly under it?

 

[840quadra]

I'm sure it's the cheapest way to get it done, and by that I mean by not employing the workers, but by contracting with them. The MacPro is such a low-margin product, that Apple couldn't really afford to hire people, right? I mean, it's simply a plastic tube with some ports and stuff?

I'm probably in the minority that wishes they were doing the assembly themselves. And based on the amount of manufacturing, including high-tech, that is currently idle in the US, I think they could have bought/leased an existing facility pretty easily.

I am with you.

For all we know, this could just be a step in going in that direction with manufacturing. Personally, I would be fine paying a premium for a US Built iPhone or iPad. If it was an option, I am sure I wouldn't be alone in that regard, though many feel Apple's prices are already too high as it is.