Apple To Help Foxconn Improve Factories 166
An anonymous reader writes "In a welcome move, Apple has agreed to help share initial costs with Foxconn in improving the factories being used to manufacture iDevices. From the article: 'Foxconn chief Terry Gou did not give a figure for the costs, but the group has been spending heavily to fight a perception its vast plants in China are sweatshops with poor conditions for its million-strong labor force. It regards the criticism as unfair. "We've discovered that this (improving factory conditions) is not a cost. It is a competitive strength," Gou told reporters on Thursday after the ground-breaking ceremony for a new China headquarters in Shanghai. "I believe Apple sees this as a competitive strength along with us, and so we will split the initial costs."'"
Apple cares (Score:3, Interesting)
On top of that this is also interesting view to changes in worlds politics. We haven't had such industrial revolution since the US started growing. It also shows that the hybrid socialist-capitalism system that China (and somewhat Europe too) has is a great strength compared to the US hard stance on pure capitalism. Having spent time the China and other places in Asia I must also say that the people are much nicer and reasonable. It is often impossible to deal with Americans, but Asian people still enjoy good old talk, socializing and being together. Also the cheer amount of their population and business culture, with a still relaxed life helps them.
I am more than interested to see this change in politics, and as I am already living in Asia (I moved here from Europe), stuff is about to get great soon.
Cynical (Score:1, Interesting)
Let me see if I have this straight.. (Score:3, Interesting)
Let me see if I have this straight... Apple and Foxconn are working to improve worker conditions - when they and their "independent audit" claim that worker conditions aren't bad in the first place, and the article that ignited the firestorm was discovered to be fiction?
Interesting.
Re:Let me see if I have this straight.. (Score:5, Interesting)
Here's what's going on, in a nutshell:
1. The conditions at Foxconn are dangerous, cruel, and completely unacceptable to Western sensibilities.
2. The conditions at Foxconn are completely legal, better than other plants, and probably considered ethical by Chinese standards.
In other words, this whole brouhaha says more about outsourcing manufacturing to China in general than anything about Apple or Foxconn specifically. Basically, if Americans and Europeans really thought about who was getting killed and maimed and exploited in order to supply their cheap stuff, they'd never accept it, but because it's far away and not talked about they're effectively putting it out-of-sight-out-of-mind.
Re:Good news for everyone but the haters (Score:0, Interesting)
Twat. Apple have made billions from near slave and child labor. Now they're spending 0.01% of that to improve their image. How about not exploiting foreign poverty and having factories on home turf?