New Report Delves Into Inner Workings of Foxconn's Zhengzhou iPhone Plant

[dogslobber]

Is there any global company currently using robotics to the scale that Apple might need? Serious question.

I'm just wondering if this is possible and what sort of time frame we're looking at.

Dunno, but the aggressive push for full robotic automation of factories such as this place will happen so fast and quickly that anarchy will result. Think about an individual who was earning and now they don't. Multiply that by 10m and you have serious social instability on your doorstep which can't be brought under control by the commie gov't.

 

[desmond2046]

Y'all being mad at Foxconn on salary and working condition, etc.
Yes, it is not optimal and much worse compared to EU and US.

But you need to know that working at Foxconn provides a much better life for those workers compared to farming, working for small factories, or being unemployed. There ain't no food stamp for unemployed in China.

 

[Samdeli]

There is practically no sales tax, income tax, or property tax in China, there for wages low

 

[BorderingOn]

They are evil, they should pay for my college education, food and housing.

Isn't that exactly what a job does?

 

[sir1963nz]

You do realize, you are drawing a parallel between them and us (the West) that even during our period of Industrialization did not exist. The future is not always a mirror of the past, especially with difficult cultures and political regimes/empires. There are many, many reasons that conditions may not improve. In fact, there are likely more arguments of why it will not when they try to be even more competitive with us after Jan 20. Your prediction is short sighted.

And what happens on Jan 20, nothing really.
Trump has no magic wand, factories and infrastructure and supply chains all take time to build.

Or, to put it another way, by the time mid term elections are held, no new jobs will have been created in the US, lots more may have been lost in companies who export (US$2 Trillion) as tariffs on US exports by other countries made ones from China , the EU, etc more cost competitive, e.g. Airbus, Samsung,Panasonic, Toyota,etc etc etc etc.
This could see punishment in the polls.
End of term, few if any major players (Apple, HP, etc etc etc) will have started manufacturing by that stage.
Trump is gone, policies are reversed and the world carries on.
Its not just the factories, where is the power, the water, the raw materials, freight haulage, etc etc comping from, all of that takes years and years to happen. Where do 300,000 workers come from ? Where do they live, what about schools, hospitals, roads, water, sewerage, electricity, police, fire, internet, phone, shops, car mechanics, we are talking of a city of over 1 million people by the time you add in all the other services a population needs.
How soon can a city of 1 million people get created ?

But what happens if they go down the automation route, few employees. Well other US manufacturers will jump on that band wagon too, a rush a new automation will cause a fall in costs making it cost effective for a lot more companies. This will lead to few jobs comping back to the US, and a lot of jobs lost to automation.

AI is going to have a major impact, its going to change almost everything and will replace a LOT of jobs.

Instead of trying to bring back non existent jobs back to the USA, the US would have been better to start panning on what to do with a very large number of unemployed. The world has possibly hit (or soon will) peak employment, AI and automation is only going to see employment ratios head one way....down.

 

[Zaft]

Isn't that exactly what a job does?

Well yes, I was referring to entitled millennials who think they deserve everything for free.

 

[Denmac1]

From Wikipedia:
Major customers
Major customers of Foxconn include or have included:

• Acer Inc. (Taiwan)[55]
• Amazon.com (United States)[8]
• Apple Inc. (United States)[56]
• BlackBerry Ltd. (Canada)[57]
• Cisco (United States)[58]
• Dell (United States)[59]
• Google (United States)[60]
• Hewlett-Packard (United States)[61]
• Huawei (China)[62]
• InFocus (United States)
• Intel (United States)
• Microsoft (United States)[63]
• Motorola Mobility (United States)[59]
• Nintendo (Japan)[64]
• Nokia (Finland)[56][65]
• Sony (Japan)[66]
• Toshiba (Japan)[67]
• Vizio (United States)[68]
• Xiaomi (China)[69]

Plus, they have other facilities in at least 5 other countries. Some people just need to stop bashing Apple.

 

[riverfreak]

...
AI is going to have a major impact, its going to change almost everything and will replace a LOT of jobs.
...

"Hey Siri, attach the camera module to the motherboard."

a minute later...

"I'm sorry. I didn't catch that. Do you want to search the web?"

 

[Zaft]

From Wikipedia:
Major customers
Major customers of Foxconn include or have included:

• Acer Inc. (Taiwan)[55]
• Amazon.com (United States)[8]
• Apple Inc. (United States)[56]
• BlackBerry Ltd. (Canada)[57]
• Cisco (United States)[58]
• Dell (United States)[59]
• Google (United States)[60]
• Hewlett-Packard (United States)[61]
• Huawei (China)[62]
• InFocus (United States)
• Intel (United States)
• Microsoft (United States)[63]
• Motorola Mobility (United States)[59]
• Nintendo (Japan)[64]
• Nokia (Finland)[56][65]
• Sony (Japan)[66]
• Toshiba (Japan)[67]
• Vizio (United States)[68]
• Xiaomi (China)[69]

Plus, they have other facilities in at least 5 other countries. Some people just need to stop bashing Apple.

They wont since saying "Vizio factory worker commits suicide" wont get any attention.

But apple? you have everyone reporting on it.

 

[Dan DeWilde]

Economic warfare to weaken the US strategically. The capitalists have sold them the rope.

The Clinton Administration signed the treaty normalizing trade between the US and China in addition to championing China's admission to the World Trade Organization. We have Bill to thank for this.

Also, the article seems to implicate Mr. Jobs for sending jobs to China. When the iPod came out, China was a member of the WTO and a normal trading partner with the US. Mr. Jobs was doing nothing more than controlling costs like any responsible business person would do. He did not "invent" sending assembly operations to Asia.
[doublepost=1483038448][/doublepost]

They wont since saying "Vizio factory worker commits suicide" wont get any attention.

But apple? you have everyone reporting on it.

...and they are not Apple factory workers anyway... they are Foxconn factory workers.

 

[minimo3]

And in a couple of years many of them will have to go back to the family farm as Foxconn deploys its robots. It's already started https://www.google.com/amp/www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/36376966?client=safari. Foxconn plans to deploy a million robots within 3 years. http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/china/2011-07/30/c_131018764.htm

 

[calzon65]

benefits like mini-wage of $0.50-$1.50 /hr no overtime compensation / making low wage workers pay to live on site. and letting them dump waste out in the cheapest ways.

Dude relax, it was just a joke.

 

[44267547]

People need to stop associating Apple with all of the blame and problems of FoxConn. A LOT of companies get their parts made by them,

and I'm willing to bet Apple is doing more than any of the other companies that have work done there to monitor and help the people working there. You don't hear of Samsung sending people there and looking into problems.

Also, as far as jobs and work goes, I bet working there is a pretty desirable option for the employed in the area. At least as far as their options go. The problems are with the country and how it's run.

People (the media) just love to mention Apple when they bring up the issues associated with FoxConn and other factories there because with Apple mentioned in the story, they'll get a lot more clicks, views, and attention.

This. Absolutely agree. This article highlights Apple, not the other manufacturers who use FoxConn. And Apple has a stronger following than most other manufacturers, which as you stated, will gather more attention and focus than say Vizio or Acer.

Also, Foxconn provides jobs, rather it be a justifiable job that suits the economy, is not up for me to decide. And China as a whole has conditions in which are deplorable and dictated on its own, which is another topic in its own.

 

[onigami]

And so it was for everyone else going through industrialization. With time worker conditions there will improve, just as happened in the West.

What, is some Magical Capitalist going to come in to fix these conditions? Don't make me laugh.

The trade unions are monitored and controlled by the CPC. The leader of the big-tent union is a member of the Politburo. Worker rights and conditions only improve when the CPC thinks it's convenient, i.e. doesn't impact their economic planning, and even then the improvements are minimal (though in some cases they are better than America's). The CPC's only vested interests are attaining economic hegemony in the world and complete control of the populace at home.

Worker conditions only improved effectively with independent trade unions in the early days of industrialization. But barring a massive regime change (which I'm uncertain is in any elite's interest at this point), there's no way that's possible in China right now.

 

[TigerWoodsIV]

The utopia where no one works and everyone gets everything for free?

The day is already here where there aren't enough jobs for everyone, and certainly not enough "good" jobs (good meaning decent working conditions and a salary that can support a lifestyle above the poverty line). I wonder when the tipping point will be, because at some point the status quo will need to be changed. If people are not needed to work a job that requires suicide nets, good, but there'll obviously need to be an alternative to sustain those people.

As far as I'm concerned, automation shouldn't be scary, it should be welcomed. The problem is that the automation is happening at a rate that the current economy and governments can't handle. They don't have a solution. But when you think about it, obviously those people out of work are capable of doing other things while the robots churn away making iPhones. This doesn't mean people should sit around and get everything for free, but honestly just assembling iPhones day in and day out isn't that productive either in terms of bettering yourself or the world. I'm sure a lot of the people working these jobs are smart people who never had opportunities, and can be more productive if society finds a way to utilize automation as an advantage to everyone, not just to the stockholders of corporations.

I don't pretend to have the solutions myself, but might as well face it, it's coming and the world needs to deal with it better than just having hundreds of millions of people out of work.

 

[BruceEBonus]

If you think it's all sweetness and light at Foxconn then don't read Haunted Empire by Yukari Iwatani Kane.

 

[niploteksi]

Instead of trying to bring back non existent jobs back to the USA, the US would have been better to start panning on what to do with a very large number of unemployed. The world has possibly hit (or soon will) peak employment, AI and automation is only going to see employment ratios head one way....down.

This is fun:

People need to start thinking about what kind of jobs will be available in the future. First robotics in factories... then AI drivers and pilots. Droideka will replace soldiers.... Educate us, the people, now!

 

[singe]

Heft, expertise. Maybe. But. The main reason Apple uses Foxconn is that the can pay the lowest wages possible, something that would not fly in many other countries. It's a form of exploitation. As a stockholder, I wish to have nothing to do with this side of Apple. Completely deplorable. Many other stockholders agree. I am part of the change that will see Apple stop exploitation of workers in developing countries. Unethical. Inhumane.

If you truly believe Apple/Foxconn are deplorable for running a electronics manufacturing business as you describe your either too naive or a hypocrite to own AAPL stock. Also which countries are you referring to who are existing bastions of workers rights in technology and electronics manufacturing at a similar scale?

China will eventually lose much of its existing manufacturing in the future as its population skills up in to a middle class with greater ambition and the increased labour costs. The 99% Invisible podcast below is worth a listen.

Dollar Store Town: Inside the World’s Biggest Wholesale Market
http://99percentinvisible.org/episode/dollar-store-town-inside-worlds-biggest-wholesale-market/

 

[SeminalSage]

Watch Apple convince the new administration to create a special "Apple economic zone" in the USA, so the Apple public relations team can move those Chinese workers to the USA and call it in-sourcing.

They already exist (sort of), they are called Free Trade Zones in the USA (usually use documented workers). It is an area were parts can be transported in, assembled and/or repacked, and transported out. Only the portion of the completed product(s) that remain in the USA are taxed.

 

[MRrainer]

Even without the wages: China has so much skilled workers - it would be an absolute herculean effort to train and amass as many in any place in the US or Europe - and that's without them living in dorms on a campus with occasional days off.


It would be a bit like the Manhattan Project. It could be done - but people here and in the US only really tolerate these kinds of living-conditions during war-times.

 

[romeoak]

I'm looking forward to the day factories such as these will be fully automated, and need only a few people for oversight. No more "slave labor" when machines can do the work.

It's time for the planet to move past the concept of there needing to be a job for everyone. We need to embrace a future where most jobs can be done by machines, and decide how best to proceed from there.

Overwatch will be needed

 

[friedmud]

1.Trump does not control the perks in China.
2. Any tariffs Trump applies only applies to goods going to the USA, the rest of the world will simply get Cheaper products than the USA.
3. Impacted countries will put a tariff on US imports. Airbus for example would be pleased to see Boeing being 5% more expensive, as will Japanese car manufacturers. Just because China puts a tariff on US imports does not mean they will put a tariff on ones from the EU.

If anything Trump will create a slow down of world trade, creating a global recession and even MORE US jobs lost.

The rest of the world could also turn around and reduce copyright and patent terms, especially medical ones, so that generics will come quicker and cheaper.

Dump the FAA,FDA etc from having sway over policy outside the USA, the EU I am sure would love to take up the mantle.
Dump the US$ as the standard for trade, the euro will do just as well.

Trump is a warning bell to other countries, reduce your exposure to the US and its policies.
Its is also an opportunity to increase trade internationally (excluding the USA) with the understanding that Asia holds 60% of the worlds population, and 96% of the worlds population lives outside of the USA.

The US (if not already) will soon be only the 2nd largest economy, China will be the biggest, and if the EU plays its cards right, they will soon become 2nd leaving the US 3rd.

Unfortunately the US response will be to sow political discord, and if need be start a few wars around the world to try and maintain their grip on world affairs.

Note: I didn't vote for Trump... but the world doesn't have to be as black and white as you have it here.

There is a middle ground where _some_ manufacturing returns to the US and reasonable import tariffs are imposed to allow for some financial incentive for companies to create infrastructure here. The situation right now with China is completely one-sided... it doesn't have to completely tip toward the US... but I believe a middle ground can be found where both countries have reasonable tariffs and the work is spread a bit more evenly.

Now: whether or not Trump will make this happen is a completely separate discussion. I currently believe that he won't... but we're just going to have to wait and see.

 

[smacrumon]

If you truly believe Apple/Foxconn are deplorable for running a electronics manufacturing business as you describe your either too naive or a hypocrite to own AAPL stock. Also which countries are you referring to who are existing bastions of workers rights in technology and electronics manufacturing at a similar scale?

China will eventually lose much of its existing manufacturing in the future as its population skills up in to a middle class with greater ambition and the increased labour costs. The 99% Invisible podcast below is worth a listen.

Dollar Store Town: Inside the World’s Biggest Wholesale Market
http://99percentinvisible.org/episode/dollar-store-town-inside-worlds-biggest-wholesale-market/

Thanks. I already subscribe to 99%I. I own the stock to make change. I'm in the game, but I'm changing the game rules.

 

[ericwn]

This is fun:

People need to start thinking about what kind of jobs will be available in the future. First robotics in factories... then AI drivers and pilots. Droideka will replace soldiers.... Educate us, the people, now!

Thanks for posting this, it's always nice to listen to what Michio Kaku has to say. His books about the future are also very good, in my opinion.

 

[threesixty360]

Heft, expertise. Maybe. But. The main reason Apple uses Foxconn is that the can pay the lowest wages possible, something that would not fly in many other countries. It's a form of exploitation. As a stockholder, I wish to have nothing to do with this side of Apple. Completely deplorable. Many other stockholders agree. I am part of the change that will see Apple stop exploitation of workers in developing countries. Unethical. Inhumane.

The cost of living is cheaper. That's why wages are low. Why journalists do not point this out every time they talk about "slave labour" I will never know. It's so obvious.