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Foxconn Workers Reportedly Strike over iPhone 5 Quality Control Demands
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Go to the source
http://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx?DatasetCode=ANHRS
Just on hours us is outside the top 10.
Though If you read the post and links back to the bbc , you would have seen the disclaimer that the Data is collected by the countries themselves and not always perfectly comparable, some countries do not feature
Hours was not the issue though, it's how hard people have to work, I've worked in Japan, Australia and GB, while in Japan I was really interested to see how long they worked etc, thier job was thier life , but no way would I say they worked harder. Just cause they spend more time in the office it does not mean they are more productive.
How do you think these countries became so big so fast? Look at Japan and Korea after the war/wars. They had nothing. The countries became so big so quickly because the people became literal slaves to build back up their countries.
Of course spending more time in the office doesnt mean your productivity will automatically triple.
But it does increase productivity. You think these workers (any country) putting in late hours are sitting on their asses doing nothing?
To say putting more hours in doesnt mean its productive is undermining these people. And if you truly believe that then you're delusional.
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I guess all those investment bankers working 100 hour weeks are just sitting on their asses wasting time right? Seriously if you have no idea what you are talking about better off not saying anything.
I know I'm late to the party, and I only read up to page 5ish of the comments - but will people who have no idea how businesses are run please stop saying stupid things like this.
Companies, especially publicly traded ones, have expectations and accountability to shareholders - people purchase shares based on past performance and forecasted performance along with dividends. Businesses don't take 25% margin hits just to make a statement. You would see prices increase to keep that margin, which means less units shipped, less accessories, less music and app downloads. The fallout could be enormous - realistically, almost nobody in the US would buy $400 phones ON contract.
If you still think they should just take a hit for the better good - what would you say when you walk in to work tomorrow and your boss tells you that you're now taking a $5,000 pay cut as part of the company's new initiative to provide food and medicine to Africa, or Appalachia, or any big city's poverty programs? You're still working as hard, you still have a lifestyle to maintain, but now you are being paid less. I have a hard time imagining that conversation would go well.
And to everybody who seems to think the workers are intentionally letting / pushing products through QC - please pull your heads out of your asses and stop commenting on here, and preferably uninstall your browser.
Sure you may have a disgruntled employee here and there, but on the whole workers want to make a good product and do a good job. This is a production and engineering issue - workers will use the skills they have and equipment on-hand to make the best products possible. If there are quality concerns, it's up to supervisors to put controls in place if they are available, or work with engineers to change the process to get better yield.
99 out of 100 times, operator error is not a legitimate excuse for a quality escape - human factors need to be taken into account.
Ultimately this is between Apple and Foxconn to work together and determine what is realistic, and possibly set up better initial stockings, ramp sooner, something.
"investment bankers working 100 hour weeks"
That's funny
Whats so funny about it? I think its rather sad but its the harsh truth.
After reading a large portion of your post you should take your own advice. The bottom line of overseas workforce is greed !!!! With the amount of money saved on labor we should get flawless products and arguably cheaper with the immense profits.
After reading a large portion of your post you should take your own advice. The bottom line of overseas workforce is greed !!!! With the amount of money saved on labor we should get flawless products and arguably cheaper with the immense profits.
Not going to happen. Companies are making more profits nowadays than during booming economy. They are hoarding money so that they can use it in M&A activity at their will. Why would companies care about anything else.
Best example is raw material in a cereal box costs 4% of retail value. But if raw material goes up by say 10% companies will increase the retail value by 20%. In reality it retail price should go up by 0.4%. We have no choice other than paying more.
Also you will see lot of people suggesting somehow customers are supposed to help companies to make money. In this case you will see "Stop complaining and live with scratched/dented iPhone5".
If they going to making their product in China then they having to be fair to Chinese workers. If worker being treated fair they no striking. There is something wrong and you no getting all the story. This is big problem with foreign companies coming to China they always asking lower price and this money coming from worker pocket. I do not know why Apple who making so much moneys cannot being fair. How much money they needing to make before they thing of others.
What does Foxconn gain by admitting there was a strike?
What does Foxconn gain by saying there was no strike?
macfacts
Apple R&D budget
"For the nine months ended June 25 (2011), Apple's R&D spending was $1.78 billion, or 2.2 percent of sales. "
This is for 2011, but can be used as a comparison for 2012. So scale that down to a single iphone and that means they spent about $14.30 on R&D for each phone sold.
Apple Ad/marketing budget (2010)
"Apple's recently filed SEC 10-K form reports that company spent $691 million on advertising in the year that launched both iPad and the new iPhone 4." So even smaller peanuts spent on advertising.
To try and argue apple is not making huge profits is a genuine lie.
whoa buddy, you took what i said WAY out of context.
someone was arguing with me about profits and i said apple is making a ton of them and that the other costs don't result in reducing the profit by 50%, and that person was saying otherwise. i appreciate the data, but we're on the same side here. follow back the posts and quote that guy who was attacking me with the data you just provided, he needs to be aware of his inconsistency
So you must think the Managers are like "we must treat these workers nice or else they will quit".
The reality is the Managers are like "Get back to work bitch! I got a mile long of people wanting to take your spot".
Lol, I can't be the only one picturing iphone buyers lining up outside apple stores.
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the problem with people being late to the party, is they grab someone's post out of context without reading the prior post. i know you said you did that, but it seems you either conveniently removed a lot of my post or you chose to do so, to twist the way my post appears.
1) no one is suggesting to cut profit margins in half - i was merely stating that 70% profit margin is not necessary. since we're already there, it's too late
2) no one suggests that Foxconn workers are purposefully damaging products -well at least i never said that
the quality issues boil down to Foxconn trying to boost profits by reducing capital equipment upgrades that really are required to meet Apple's level of quality. it's a Foxconn issue, not an Apple issue. the thread digressed to profit margins so i chimed in. This is one of the downsides of firm fixed contracts with Apple...Foxconn tries to cut corners since they have a limited fixed budget
That's just going against the global economy. The only legitimate reason why US companies should stop building in China is that China does not have the kind of labor and environmental standards that exist in other countries. Or, you could say that we're buying from the guy in the dark alley instead of the shopkeeper.
I want to see 0% corporate tax (or a very low one) and restrictions on ALL factories, whether they be in the US or China. They only build in China because they can abuse people there, and the US (especially California) has ridiculous taxes. The movie industry is leaving Los Angeles because of all the taxes being raised. Man our government sucks.
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Yes, they do, but the Chinese factories are highly unethical. I'm not going to blend this story with the scuffing story. They are separate issues. Whether or not they make perfect iPhones, they should be paid more, and the factories should have better pollution standards.
Nope. I think it is fascinating that so few people has real experience in the working and living condition of third world country (yes, China is still a third world country in most of their cities) but yet comfortable to impose our view and experience to the rest of the world. People are lining up at Foxconn for jobs because these are jobs that can support their family.. They took those lousy working condition because the alternative is hunger for their family. And you got that right, there are mile long of people waiting for the job. So if one is willing participant, how does it make the situation a slavery? Your beef should be that China is a bi-polar society. The rich is very rich and the poor is very poor. And we are heading that way too. This is wikipedia definition of slavery
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slavery
Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work.[1] Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation.
But the great one you guys worship told the president those Jobs are NEVER coming back and you guys still worship him. I would of thrown him out of the Whitehouse for saying that.
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Typical spoiled brat response. You wouldn't last five minutes on any assembly line let alone the Foxconn line of death.These poor people are just wanting a better way of life compared to mac fans only wanting a new Apple gadget.
LOL Maybe 5% of the population lives to that saying... Most of us in America are lazy. I work 60 hours a week for my job and a majority of my friends/family/co-workers start bitching once they hit 30 hours.
You're friends/family/co-workers are lazy and don't represent the typical American.You're hangin with the wrong crowd. I can't tellyou how many of my family members from Uerope come here thinking they don't have to work hard only to get a rude awakening.The typical european is lazy and stupid in comparison.
Glass back, come back!
Glass back of iPhone 4/4s = major selling point = solution to scratching = makes it beautiful = makes it sexy to hold = sexy overall.
But good news: "Liquidmetal" alloy will soon be used for back (metal glass). iPhone 5 = bridge to future solution; its back can be substituted with Liquidmetal back part in future version. Give people a reason to upgrade again
Glass back of iPhone 4/4s = major selling point = solution to scratching = makes it beautiful = makes it sexy to hold = sexy overall.
But good news: "Liquidmetal" alloy will soon be used for back (metal glass). iPhone 5 = bridge to future solution; its back can be substituted with Liquidmetal back part in future version. Give people a reason to upgrade again
Are you saying this strike was over pay? This thread is about a news report that says it's due to quality control expectations being unrealistic, and workers striking due to being asked to do the impossible (make the phone without it getting scratched, ever). What does this have to do with pay, exactly?
Personally, I don't understand why people care about minor scratches on the back of their iPhone. It does not affect the functionality of the device. Now the people who complained about these scratches can see the consequences of their idiotic whining. Good job, folks.
This is the problem with "free trade:" products get better rights than people. The product can freely be traded with no tariffs from one country to another, however the workers cannot freely move from one country to another. The products are protected from having different tariffs in different countries, but the workers are not protected from having different wages is different countries. Free trade of products without free movement of labor causes pay inequity.
Pay inequity is why companies put their factories in China in the first place. If Chinese workers and Mexican workers got paid the same as USA workers, then the factories would still be in the USA.
We need to eliminate countries and currencies, and make the entire world a single country with no borders and a single currency, and a single minimum wage.
If Foxconn admits there is a strike it looks bad for them because it looks like they have lost control over their work force and Apple may loose faith in them meeting demand.
That's what
So you're telling me you would pay full price on a brand new car all scratched up because it doesn't effect the operation of the car?
Yeah right.
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This is correct.
Most americans/europeans wish to live off the GOV tit costing tax payers huge amount of monies.
There is no american that would work for 2.00/hr period when they can sit home and get a check in the mail making babies or saying they are disabled.
There is NO WAY Apple could make a phone here in the states the american people would buy at the price it would have to be. They would be back in they same situation before JOBS took the company back over.
Hell just to have a normal life in the USA you need to make 100K a year in New England and you're lucky if you are still not renting making that much!
Yeah right.
Are you saying this strike was over pay? This thread is about a news report that says it's due to quality control expectations being unrealistic, and workers striking due to being asked to do the impossible (make the phone without it getting scratched, ever). What does this have to do with pay, exactly?
Personally, I don't understand why people care about minor scratches on the back of their iPhone. It does not affect the functionality of the device. Now the people who complained about these scratches can see the consequences of their idiotic whining. Good job, folks.
This is the problem with "free trade:" products get better rights than people. The product can freely be traded with no tariffs from one country to another, however the workers cannot freely move from one country to another. The products are protected from having different tariffs in different countries, but the workers are not protected from having different wages is different countries. Free trade of products without free movement of labor causes pay inequity.
Pay inequity is why companies put their factories in China in the first place. If Chinese workers and Mexican workers got paid the same as USA workers, then the factories would still be in the USA.
We need to eliminate countries and currencies, and make the entire world a single country with no borders and a single currency, and a single minimum wage.
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This is correct.
Most americans/europeans wish to live off the GOV tit costing tax payers huge amount of monies.
There is no american that would work for 2.00/hr period when they can sit home and get a check in the mail making babies or saying they are disabled.
There is NO WAY Apple could make a phone here in the states the american people would buy at the price it would have to be. They would be back in they same situation before JOBS took the company back over.
Hell just to have a normal life in the USA you need to make 100K a year in New England and you're lucky if you are still not renting making that much!
I don't think you can say that the quality issues fall simply at the feet of Foxconn. While I'm sure that there are adjustments Foxconn will make in the process to boost quality, the fact that they are working with what appears to be a phone with an inherent design flaw doesn't exactly help them, especially when Apple is pressuring them to improve quality while also boosting production to meet the huge backlog in orders.
Apple has to take some responsibility here do they not?
if Foxconn bid on the firm fixed contract, within their bid would be the quality levels they are promising (how many sigma they can achieve). when Apple awards them the contract, both entities are agreeing to the terms. if Foxconn is failing to meet their acceptable quality level, that means Foxconn underestimated the requirements in meeting Apple's design. if Foxconn has neglected to provide basic handling capital equipment to the production line, that is Foxconn's fault.
Apple would only be at fault if they purposefully withheld quality requirements of its design from Foxconn in an attempt to get a lower bid from them. i'm not saying it's impossible they did this, but i find it highly unlikely that Apple acted with gross negligence
Foxconn could come back to Apple and request a contract mod and ask Apple for extra $$$ for additional capital equipment for product handling. seeing how Apple has so much cash on hand i don't see it being a financial problem for them to do so, but it sets a back example. it awards failure and inadequacy. Foxconn would learn not to make that mistake again if the capital equipment for handing came out of their profits
From what I read, Apple is demanding a .02mm maximum error on the phones.
You can't physically see that kind of difference...
