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Foxconn looking to hire an exorcist, Wintek dealing with lawsuit
This one's just plain weird. After being plagued with a series of suicides recently, Apple supplier Foxconn has brought in an exorcist to try and end the "negative incidents" at the plant. What a mess. Foxconn has been called out for bad labor conditions before, and call us skeptical, but the problem probably isn't demons that need to be exorcised by a monk. Still, the company is aiming to bring in the religious ceremonies to "bring peace to employees," so hopefully it'll help. Foxconn isn't the only Chinese Apple supplier troubled by "negative incidents" recently -- Wintek was accused by dozens of workers that a chemical used to clean iPhone screens during manufacturing made them sick. 62 workers at the plant have been hospitalized, and 44 of them claim it was due to n-hexane poisoning and are suing the company (a rarity, we're told, in China). Wintek also had to deal with a violent strike situation earlier this year over the same n-hexane issue. So two messy situations with Apple-contracted suppliers overseas. Apple probably doesn't have the choice any more (or the responsibility, they might say) to control what these companies do, although it is troubling that people are getting hurt or even dying just to produce cheap electronics. Hopefully both of these issues will find a just resolution.
Foxconn chairman 'has sought the aid of an exorcist' to stop suicides
Um, suicide is not funny. Especially when it's the eighth attempt -- this one resulting in death, sadly -- in three months by employees at a Foxconn facility in China. Yes, the very same factory we reported on last month that produces the gadgets we love so dearly. But check this little snippet from DigiTimes, translating the original Chinese language site Jinbw: "Terry Guo, chairman of the Foxconn Group, has sought the aid of an exorcist in an attempt to put an end to the recent run of negative incidents at the plant." Seriously? And here we thought that improving working conditions might better serve employees. Engadget Chinese did some digging and confirms reports that Foxconn will bring in a monk(s) to perform a religious service meant "to bring peace to employees" -- not necessarily meant to ward off evil. In other news Foxconn just announced consolidated net profits of US$568.73 million for the first quarter of 2010, up 34.8 percent on the year.
