Riot Shuts Down Foxconn Plant, Impact on iPhone 5 Production Unclear

[xlii]

Here in the US if your team doesn't win the Superbowl, World Series, NBA Championship or the Stanley Cup riots break out. If your team does win... riots break out. Chinese labor laws are 100 years behind the US. They will eventually have them but they will have to fight for them... just like we did.

 

[DarthMoops]

Another reason for not manufacturing products in the US is due to the lack of die makers. Apparently you could fill several cities with die makers in China, whereas collectively you wouldn't even fill a conference room in the US.

Tim needs to come up with something a little better than that.
http://tool-and-die-makers.regionaldirectory.us/

 

[NT1440]

Tim needs to come up with something a little better than that.
http://tool-and-die-makers.regionaldirectory.us/

You know, SCALE and FLEXIBILITY matters...

Apple had a last minute design change in the manufacturing for the 4s, it took mere hours for Foxconn to rework the manufacturing plant. That can't happen in the USA (not without slave labor conditions anyway).

 

[JAT]

Considering the iPhone 5 has 199$ in components :

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1445840/

Manufacturing being 8$ and let's say half of manufacturing costs are employee wages (4$ per iPhone). Foxconn employees make 290$ per month. In the US, at 15$ an hour, 160 hour month, that's 8.2 times the wages.

You should say assembling.

What people are not discussing is the costs in the $199 of parts. All those parts have all these costs (materials, labor, OH) to their companies, as well. Apple/assembling only sees the price of those parts, paid to Samsung or other parts of Foxconn, whatever. And that seems to be all anyone is considering.

So, let's say Apple moves assembling to the US. The next time there is a riot/lawsuit at a major Chinese plant, guess what? It still may be parts destined for an iPhone that were on the floor. It's just built into that parts cost, and people aren't looking at it as closely.

Now, if we move it ALL to the US, it is not just an adjustment of the assembling cost ($8), it is each part. So, the $44 touchscreen part per iSuppli moves to $65 for its increased labor costs, so on and so forth. Plus, shipment cost does not appear to be addressed at all. Possibly in the famous $8, but I don't think so. I'm not saying Apple couldn't afford it (once again, I'll point to Tesla), just that the analyses I see at MR each time this comes up are woefully inadequate.

 

[dexx0008]

Anyone who owns an Apple product is a complete hypocrite if you try and act like you give 2 poops about the working conditions over there. If you truly did, you would not buy an Apple product.

or any other person who owns a computer/gadget etc. foxconn doesn't just make apple products nor is it the only manufacturing co. in china. I'm sure there are products that are made with much much worse working conditions.

i'm not defending this but this is just part of a much larger problem.

If you want to feel better, better start throwing about 2/3'rd of what you own. maybe more.

 

[gaagaagiw]

No iPhone impact

iPhone production will not be affected. However, due to damage to production lines, production of the iPad mini will be delayed indefinitely.

 

[gnasher729]

Try $350 a month
6 day work week
10+ hour days
That comes to $14.58 a day
$1.46 per hour.

$8 buys 5 1/2 hours of labor

http://www.pcworld.com/article/250298/foxconn_to_increase_workers_wages_in_china.html

Try $400 a month before overtime.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/19/technology/foxconn-to-raise-salaries-for-workers-by-up-to-25.html

 

[NT1440]

Anyone who owns an Apple product is a complete hypocrite if you try and act like you give 2 poops about the working conditions over there. If you truly did, you would not buy an Apple product.

Hmmm, Foxconn makes products for Apple, HP, Sony, Microsoft, Amazon.....

What were you saying again? You live in a straw hut and don't have computing devices of any kind? Oh wait.....

 

[NunoBerny]

That's 10$ a day. Foxconn employees get 1800 Yuan a month (290$).

To be honest, it was "made up" number. I had no idea on actual salaries. Just knew they were low.

I guess, for that region, it's not bad. Couldn't get workers for that income in too many other places...

 

[nfl46]

Wow. That really messed up stuff.

 

[kazpod]

Hmmm, Foxconn makes products for Apple, HP, Sony, Microsoft, Amazon.....

What were you saying again? You live in a straw hut and don't have computing devices of any kind? Oh wait.....

Do you see me complaining about conditions at Foxconn? No.

 

[NT1440]

Do you see me complaining about conditions at Foxconn? No.

Then what exactly was your post about?

 

[ryan102]

I find it pretty disgusting people are more worried about the iPhone5/apple products production rather than the safety of people who make the damn items.

Some people are very ungrateful and think Apple is the best brand in the world and can do no wrong. This is exactly the kind of thinking that has led majority of people to joke about people who buy Apple products.

It feels like as long as the iPhone keeps rolling off the production line then stuff what the workers get paid or how their treated. Their humans and they shouldn't be treated as harshly as they are just so you can have the latest gadget.

If Apple wants to do something positive then how about using those billions of dollars their making and give these people higher wages and better working conditions. I just find some remarks here very selfish and some of you should be very ashamed of yourselves.

 

[mobilehaathi]

Workers of the world unite!

 

[oneschance]

foxconn

return of the dragon by the thousands

 

[Lark.Landon]

This guy gets it.

For capitalism to be peaches and cream here at home, you have to export the misery. But wait, things are terrible here, what do you think that means for the rest of the world where we've installed capitalistic regimes?

If you don't like it, go to another country with a different government and economic system.

 

[samcraig]

Hmmm, Foxconn makes products for Apple, HP, Sony, Microsoft, Amazon.....

What were you saying again? You live in a straw hut and don't have computing devices of any kind? Oh wait.....

I think it's obvious why fingers immediately point to Apple vs other manufacturers. It's because they are the most profitable. Boast about how profitable they are. Boast about how much they do for the working conditions, etc.

Apple hasn't been the "underdog" for a very long time and some people still think of them that way and are surprised when Apple is attacked for doing just what everyone else does.

Apple isn't necc. MORE accountable. But they are accountable (I'm not referring to this specific incident, mind you - just in the logic in finger pointing). And if they enjoy being "#1" in the industry (perceived or not) they will always be in the headline when the S!@#$ hits the fan.

 

[clibinarius]

Anyone who owns an Apple product is a complete hypocrite if you try and act like you give 2 poops about the working conditions over there. If you truly did, you would not buy an Apple product.

And what alternative do you recommend, comrade?

 

[TheReadyPrompt]

Repression, riots, people no doubt hurt whats the headline "Impact on iPhone 5 Production Unclear" How sad to see everything reduced just so people can have the latest toy a bit earlier.

This is MacRumors.com, where news like this has to be put in the specific context of how it affects Apple's products and services.

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So because its an iphone you can ignore the human suffering ?

The FIRST focus HAS to be the iphone?

It just shows ho far people take this obsessions with this gadget .

Go back to the Huffington Post where you belong, bleeding heart illiterate.

 

[applesith]

Well, are there American companies like a Foxconn that have the infrastructure to assemble 40-50M iPhones in a quarter? Apple doesn't actually build the factories and hire the workers. They outsource the work to Foxconn. Where is the Foxconn equivalent in US. Also, people are only comparing the wages of a single Chinese to an American. In terms of iPhone assembly, are American as efficient as the Chinese? Are they willing to put in as many hours? If not, there might be a need to construction MORE assembly lines to have the same production and THAT would increase cost greatly.

People love to say they would be willing to pay more for an American made product. Well, Mac were made in Cali when PCs were made in China, Taiwan. Which computers did Americans end up buying and why? PC because Macs were too expensive.

Exactly! People think it's as easy as just setting up a factory overnight and having all those workers on hand.

 

[kazpod]

And what alternative do you recommend, comrade?

Nothing to recommend. Simply people aren't allowed to complain about Foxconn if you buy Apple and other computer products.

 

[Battlefield Fan]

Have you got a link to that article?

http://micgadget.com/29723/the-undercover-report-on-how-the-new-iphone-5-is-made-inside-foxconn-factory/ The link is in the MR report but I included it to make it easier for you. Follow his 10 days in a foxconn factory. Scary.

 

[charlituna]

As detailed in an undercover report from earlier this month, Foxconn's Taiyuan facility is involved in the production of the iPhone 5 black plate,

there are either major translation issues or this guy is full of crap, because there are no earphone jacks or connector ports on the iPhone back plate.

 

[Konrad]

If you don't like it, go to another country with a different government and economic system.

LOL. You have not seen much of he world outside of your suburbia, have you? By the same token I am often perplexed why so many people even care about some new telephone, when they have nothing interesting to say while using it?

 

[Malmer]

I don't think the impact would be that great. The American economy would certainly be strengthened if Apple were to do such a move. Hundreds of thousands of jobs added, tons of money poured into American workers.

Plus, just think - if Apple had to actually pay taxes on that $100B they have stashed outside the US.....people complain about Romney's measly millions stashed in a Swiss bank account....PFFT!

Oakley makes their products in the USA - how do their prices compare to other high end sunglasses makers? (maybe a poor analogy but was the first "USA made" company I could think of).

Also, RED Digital Cinema cameras (same guy who started oakley) are made in the US aswell. And they are cheaper (and better) than the competition which is made in China.