foxconn

On the eve of the unveiling of the iPhone 5, the Shanghai Evening Post published an insider report of what it's like to work at Foxconn's Tai Yuan factory assembling the device. And while it could be worse, the conditions aren't pretty.

The story is told by a Shanghai Evening Post reporter who went undercover, got a job at the plant, and then kept a diary of his life while working there for 10 days. His article was translated and summarized in English by MIC Gadget.

After going through an intensive seven-day orientation -- during which he … Read more

Interns at Chinese electronics manufacturing giant Foxconn are not being forced to work on the production line of iPhone accessories. How do we know? Foxconn, for its part, says so.

Responding to reports in the Chinese publications Beijing News and China Daily and elsewhere that some students in Jiangsu province were being pressured to work long hours at Foxconn making things like iPhone USB cables, the company -- which makes iPhones and iPads for Apple -- told Bloomberg today that an audit by the Fair Labor Association "found no evidence that any interns were pressured to participate."

The … Read more

Students from a university in Huai'an, Jiangsu Province, allegedly have been forced to do assembly work at a Foxconn plant under the guise of internships, according to the Shanghai Daily.

The newspaper reports that 200 students were driven to a factory run by Foxconn after the company experienced a labor shortage ahead of Apple's anticipated new iPhone, which is likely to be revealed at a September 12 press event.

Citing a student from the Huai'an Institute of Technology under the online alias MengniuIQ84, the publication writes that after working on production lines, each student was paid 1,… Read more

Apple supplier Foxconn has completed the majority of the changes aimed at fixing labor law violations, but its biggest obstacle may be ahead of it -- communicating with its employees that it will continue cutting weekly work hours down from more than 60 to 40 to comply with China's regulations, according to the Fair Labor Association.

The association published a report today reviewing Foxconn's completed changes and its next steps. The FLA found that Foxconn made all of the 195 change due in April and May. These are mainly physical changes that improve worker health and safety and … Read more

Factories where Samsung DVD players and mobile phones are assembled are rife with labor rights abuses, a Chinese labor watchdog charged today.

According to a report (PDF) released today, HEG Electronics allegedly employs children under the age of 16 and forces its factory employees to work unreasonably long hours.

"The company has clearly violated Chinese labor laws," the watchdog, China Labor Watch, told Bloomberg in an article today. "A serious light needs to be shined on these issues."

According to China Labor Watch's report, which is based on an investigator working undercover at HEG, child … Read more

Greetings Americans in the year 2012,

I'm contacting you today from the not-too-distant future with a warning for the people of your time. A major health care crisis is just around the corner. No, it's not the one you'll hear political candidates jawing about this fall, and you shouldn't listen to them anyway since one is a robot and the other is an alien (which will surprise you in about 18 months when All is Revealed.) Rather, it's the increasing incidence of tech-related ailments that comes from dumping more digital devices into the lives of your aging population.

But first, a little about me.

Using the new "Google Past" feature on my "extended reality" headset from Huawei (made possible by the remarkable advances that have taken place at CERN in the past few years and the generous permission of our benevolent new leaders in Beijing), I'm able to project myself from the current year, 2016, back to your present day, three years before the Greatest Compromise will make most of you full-fledged citizens of Foxconn.… Read more

Indonesia is the next country on Foxconn's list to get a tech-manufacturing factory. According to The Next Web, the company has confirmed it will invest at least $1 billion in opening a factory on the island nation and it could invest up to $9 billion more.

Foxconn is one of Apple's primary manufacturers and has plants in China and Brazil where it makes iPhone smartphones and iPad tablets. According to The Next Web, Indonesia's government is hoping that Foxconn's proposed factory will spur more tech companies to build factories there creating a Southeast Asian tech hub.… Read more

iPhone 5 production reports are rolling in from Asia with more frequency. This time, a Taipei-based report claims that Pegatron has started making the next iPhone.

The Taiwan-based manufacturer has begun production of a new version of the iPhone at its factory in Shanghai, according to Digitimes, citing "industry sources in Taiwan."

This follows a week-earlier report claiming basically the same thing -- though that report did not specify the manufacturer.

That earlier report did get specific about the phone itself, however, saying the back of the new iPhone has both glass and aluminum. By comparison, the iPhone … Read more

Foxconn's Chengdu facility was teeming with applicants this week looking to lend a hand in producing Apple's next iPad, according to a recent report.

Chinese tech site MIC Gadget reported yesterday that thousands of people were lined up outside Foxconn's Chengdu plant, where it assembles Apple products, to hopefully secure a summer job. According to MIC Gadget, Foxconn had one job requirement: all applicants must have good eyesight. MIC Gadget says that those workers are being hired to handle production of the long-rumored iPad Mini.

Although Apple hasn't provided any details on a possible iPad Mini, … Read more