Apple CEO Tim Cook Responds to Reports of Worker Mistreatment

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Yeah, like Apple just found out yesterday...for sure!

Foxconn is probably one of the most despicable companies of the face of the Earth, it's so bad folks are throwing themselves off buildings SUICIDING themselves, Slave Labor Camps, and one step above slaving small children. I'd be happy to pay 23% more if the TENS OF MILLIONS of jobs came back to the USA. Our economy would be a hell of a lot stronger!!!
 
This is hilarious,
the thing is, i never liked Foxconn, why? Some years ago, i tried to help a friend with his minimac and his sound issue, in the end i decided to open the stupid box and see what is going on on the audio ports.
they were glued with just silicon and there was a kind of "rotten rust" on the circuit there , unacceptable for the quality of macintosh, or so i thought these days.
Now tell me, why apple is so expensive if they use so cheap labour and quality inside their boxes? Oh it must be because of the profit margin, i doubt they would raise the quality of workes of China, and you all Apple lovers should at least mock mr Cook for the hypocrisy of his statement. And i really don't understand why he even gave such a statement, considering noone can control the manufacturer's decisions except those of agreed quality of merchandise..
At least , i hope, the other companies of tech won't post such hypocritic statemets too.
 
No Apple. This is not enough. If you really want to take care of the accusations that you are doing business with people and countries that mistreat their workers and have zero labor and human rights, then you don't do business with those people. Period. Take those billions that you've made and put them where your mouth is and hire labor in countries such as Europe or America that have labor rights and treat their workers with some measure of dignity. Yes, you'll be paying much more in labor, and it would hurt your bottom line, but that's the point isn't it?

Granted, Apple is not the only one to blame for this, although they are taking a lot of heat for it at the moment. It is an industry wide problem.
 
Mr. Cook, I find it offensive that you pull the typical 1980's corporate BS on us. Firstly, your company has always been a reactionary one - your corporate culture only goes as far as it suits its own agenda. Let's not even mention how your predecessor treated 'his' employees. Remember how he yelled at them, bullied them? That's the first level contact of your "chain", so imagine how people who are so far removed from your eyes that you don't even know they exist treat people in the 3rd World countries which you're using to produce your products. You could just admit that Apple does all it can to minimize this, but all educated, even semi-educated people are aware of that shareholders are not interested in fluff, but profit, and fluff is expensive and time consuming. I am deeply, very deeply insulted that you think we're dumb.
 
[citation][nom]bunnywanny[/nom]If Foxconn workers were free to quit whenever they see fit, why do several dozen workers chose to commit mass suicides?If a factory worker does quit, his or her name will be tarnish from ever working again in any job in China. So to quit Foxconn, is to commit suicide alone in the streets of Beijing.[/citation]

That's the problem of the Chinese culture which existed long before any manufacturers started there. BTW I know a couple of ex-Foxconn employees at the plant and they quit and are doing quite well.
 
[citation][nom]xerroz[/nom]Easy for you to say. A worker there can't just quit a job and expect to find one the next day like you would in other places. Besides, where else are they gonna go anyway? [/citation]

So what you are saying is that the real problem lies in their culture and not the people purchasing their product.
 
focus from the point of view, an international study has found Jackie Chan
can use a huge airbag(always with the @pple logo), but FoxKonn admit they don't care.
 
So on one hand, Apple likes Chinese manufacturing because they can make last minute design changes, and the bosses at the factory will wake up all the workers in the middle of the night to get them started on the new process. Apple thinks this is good. And also, they like Chinese manufacturing because the razor thin margins that Foxconn charges.

I have a solution Mr. Cook, how about you guys don't act like a-holes to the manufacturing workers and pay them more? Like really just an extra $10 per device should do it. And I am sure you guys aren't hurting for money.
 
By improving the conditions they mean they placed nets to catch the workers so that they can be placed right back into the factory.
 
To think companies care about people is ignorance. I don't even know why this is posted on this website. Tom's should know better and keep to bench marking and posting technical information we came to look for in the first place.
 
[citation][nom]deanjo[/nom]That's the problem of the Chinese culture which existed long before any manufacturers started there. BTW I know a couple of ex-Foxconn employees at the plant and they quit and are doing quite well.[/citation]

Didn't Foxconn deny some of their workers' compensations after promising them such compensations if they quit their job?
 
It's not by accident that Apple can build an iPhone for so little. Cook is no better than Jobs. Both are scum.

Everyone and technology would be perfectly fine if iDevices never existed. Even if you think everyone is copying their design, the materials used are far from ugly and durable as hell. iPhone = No Gorilla glass, no non removable battery, proprietary charging port, iTunes, slow as hell getting basic features like copy and paste and minimizing the keyboard to name a very few. I've owned a 32GB iPhone 4 and it sucked, except for the battery life.. that's it. The rest was crap. I sold it for $400cdn and bout a SGS Fascinate for $150, unlocked it with two free apps in the Android Marketplace, rooted it, flashed it with Cyanogenmod 7.1, and LOVE IT! :!m iPhone.
 
The reason apple is being singled out in this case is because they are currently the industry leader. They have the highest profit margins and are sitting on 100b in cash. On one hand they claim no responsibility for the working conditions in their 'supply chain'(bad for workers) but on the other hand they are blowing 100m a peice on bogus patent case(bad for consumers)s. The industry is looking at them to lead the way in improving working conditions, but they are simply refusing to. They will receive more and more of the scrutiny until they choose to invest some of that cash in improving the lives of the people who are creating the value.
 
These reports are nothing new. The fact that it took this long for such a response only shows they do don't care and that Tim Cook isn't a exception to such.

Although this does create a chance to show of my unique marketing skills. I should pitch these to Apple and become part of the iProblem.

Apple - Profits before people.
Apple - iPhone 5 Feel rich because the ones who made it could never afford it.
Apple - iPad 3 Now comes with Chinese messages begging for help!
Apple - Buy it or we will kidnap you and make you work at Foxconn.
Apple - We are the Borg resistance is futile.
 
I can't recommend Apple products or in good conscience buy them knowing they are made under slave labour constraints.

It is our fault we allow this sort of thing to happen by subscribing to a free market global economy.

Raise huge import tariffs for pruducts manufactured by slavery.

We outlawed slavery in Western countries but allow those who profit from it to undermine our own economies and way of life.

Shame on Apple.

Shame on us.


 
[citation][nom]stratplaya[/nom]I wonder if other companies who have their stuff made in China (pretty much all of them) will respond in a similar manner?[/citation]
This isn't a problem limited to Apple. The whole world is exploiting the Chinese population. The Chinese government is communist. These people are owned by the government. The Chinese government allows this. Our governments write policies to promote this exploitation because our politicians make money directly and indirectly through these short-term profits. If they did not, it would not be advantageous for our corporations to produce anything there.

And so a few people jump off the roof... big deal. The Chinese government probably views this as supplemental population control.

Blaming consumers is a cop-out. Just about everything we have a choice to buy has some components built in China.
 
Well, yes, it's a modern Dickensian work environment including, absurdly long hours, horrible and dangerous conditions and child labor, but look how much fun those Dickens characters had? Little Nicholas Nickleby Chen is having the time of his life!
 
Can anyone name a brand of computer or smartphone with a better track record than Apple with regard to factory working conditions? Or better yet, a site or report that rates factories? I'm not having much luck at finding this info with Google.
 
[citation][nom]miqronaut[/nom]Can anyone name a brand of computer or smartphone with a better track record than Apple with regard to factory working conditions? Or better yet, a site or report that rates factories? I'm not having much luck at finding this info with Google.[/citation]
Um, Google is an almost entirely software company with the bulk of its employees in the US. You can't find the 'info' you are looking for, because it doesn't exist.

I think Apple is singled out here because of their claim of superior world 'goodness', which they are not necessarily. They are now known as the Martha Stewart of tech.

It's like the time I was taking my daughter's iPod to the Apple store for repair. There was a huge line of people who were desperate to get an S added to their iPhone 4, so I had to get past the smiling gatekeeper with an admission that I did not need that coveted S. The second time someone cut in front of me, I said, "Hey, I've been here, I'm next". He scowled at me that sharp words were spoken at his temple, and proceeded to serve people out of order anyway. Moral: It's not about what is right; It's about the feigned appearance of a happy experience (with lots of white and chrome).
 
To those that speak about "he", "they" and about "problems that will never be solved":
Apple makes its own decisions and each one of us needs to make his own as well. Never forget that companies will do these things as long that we the customers will accept it. If people went in the streets despite of the danger to be shot in order to revolt against their aggressor, there is no reason that people anywhere will avoid buying if things is not meeting their standard.
 
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