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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.
National Labor Committee report on Chinese CE factories uncovers deplorable conditions
Yesterday, the National Labor Committee produced a report on the working conditions at the KYE Factory in Dongguan City, Guangdong, China. KYE operates (like many factories in China) a live-work facility and generated sales of $400 million in 2008. KYE manufactures outsourced products for HP, Best Buy, Samsung, Foxconn, Acer, Logitech, and ASUS. Their largest customer, however, is reportedly Microsoft. The report details some of what we've come to expect in stories of labor abuses -- near children, most of them women, working for 16 or 17 hours a day, living in nearly deplorable conditions, for less than a dollar an hour -- all so that the world's ever-growing need for / addiction to consumer electronics can be fed. Now, the gadget industry isn't the only offender by a stretch -- but it's quickly becoming one of the largest (in addition to producing a truly horrific amount of toxic garbage). After the break are some choice facts from the report that our readers might be interested in ingesting, so read on.
Five Foxconn workers attempt suicide in last month, are we the cause?
Whether you know it or not, the people employed by Foxconn, aka, Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., have more than likely built something in your home. In fact, the computer or smartphone that you're using -- be it from Apple (yes, the iPad too), Nokia, HP or Dell -- to read these words was probably assembled by the hands of Foxconn workers; remote villagers that dedicate a few years of their lives (and typically 12 hours per day) to Foxconn's manufacturing cities. In return, Foxconn pays a relatively competitive wage that enables its workers to support distant relatives or eventually return to their interior province to purchase land or open up a local shop. So it's a bit startling to hear that five (5!) Foxconn workers at its Longhua plant have attempted suicide since March 11th; a facility that employs, feeds, and houses an estimated 300,000 workers. This is especially disturbing after the much publicized suicide of a Foxconn employee supposedly entrusted with an iPhone prototype. Is our obsession with cheap gadgets from a consumer electronics industry preoccupied with secrecy, profit, and speed, creating the conditions where -- for some -- suicide is the only escape?
Apple supplier audit reveals sub-minimum wage pay and records of underage labor
Apple's famous desire for total control over its operations seems to have extended to its manufacturing facilities as we've come across Cupertino's Supplier Responsibility 2010 Progress Report, which details audits the American company has done of its overseas suppliers and the failures identified therein. The findings are pretty damning on the whole, with more than half (54 percent) of all factories failing to meet Apple's already inflated maximum 60-hour work week, 24 percent paying less than the minimum wage, 37 percent failing to respect anti-discrimination rules, and three facilities holding records of employing a total of eleven 15-year olds (who were over the legal age of 16 or had left by the time of the audit). Apple is, predictably, not jazzed about the situation, and has taken action through train-the-trainer schemes, threats of business termination with recidivist plants, and -- most notably -- the recovery of $2.2 million in recruitment fees that international contract workers should not have had to pay. It should come as no shock to learn that cheaper overseas factories are cutting illegal corners, but it's disappointing to hear Apple's note that most of the 102 audited manufacturers said Cupertino was the only vendor to perform such rigorous compliance checks. Still, we'll take what we can get and the very existence of this report -- which can be savagely skewed to defame Apple's efforts (as demonstrated expertly by The Daily Telegraph below) -- is an encouraging sign that corporate responsibility is being taken seriously. We hope, wherever your geek loyalties and fervor may lie, that you'll agree Apple's leading in the right direction and that its competitors should at the very least have matching monitoring schemes. They may have to swallow some bad PR at first, but sweeping up the dirty details of where gadgets come from is juvenile and has no place in a civilized world. Hit the source link for the full report.
Intel swings 25nm factory doors open for a tour de fab
Intel and Micron's recent announcement that their collective superhero body, appropriately named IM Flash, is sampling 25nm flash chips has been accompanied with a whirlwind tour of their Utah production facilities for a few lucky journalists. PC Perspective bring us the atmospheric photo above, along with some videos, as they prance about one of the most hallowed (and cleanest) environments known to gadget lovers. Apart from the die shrink, the lads also discuss Intel's reputed plans for a G3 SSD refresh some time "later this year" with snappier controllers onboard, which apparently was echoed by Micron who also intend to pump out faster processors with their SSD products. While you wait for all that to happen, hit the source link to find out how and where the stuff that gets put inside SSDs is made.
Dick Durbin presses Apple on human rights in China
Technology relations with China and their human rights situation is turning into a hot-button issue lately, especially given Google's recent troubles with that country. Now, my old senator from Illinois, Dick Durbin, has decided to raise the level of scrutiny, calling for a list of 30 companies, including Apple, to share information about their relationships in China with the companies there. Durbin won't have to look far to find issues with Apple: there have been issues in the past with Foxconn and Wintek, two contractors that Apple uses for the majority of its products, and even a recent report commissioned by Apple found that factory conditions and pay scales weren't quite up to snuff. Still, Apple has always spoken out strongly in favor human rights, so hopefully a little bit of spotlight from queries like Durbin's will ensure that their actions match up. (Apple globe art by Kevin Van Aelst.)
See USB flash drives manufactured in this shocking behind-the-scenes video
No, Billy, USB thumb drives are not made in a magical land with fairy dust and Unicorn tears, and they're not born in the space beneath the Razzleberry waterfall. Yes, we're as shocked as you are. Luckily, the gang at Netbook News are on hand to set us straight with this video of the Kingston Manufacturing Plant, which offers us a rare glimpse into all of the stamping, printing, baking, cutting, and packaging that goes into getting you the portable storage you crave. Interesting? You bet it is -- and it's after the break.[Via Make]
The birth of a Blu-ray: inside the manufacturing plant
Were you ever curious as to how a Blu-ray disc is manufactured? NEWS.com.au took a rare look into one of Sony's DADC factories and took some snapshots detailing the disc's journey from plastic crystal pieces all the way to the finished product. As you can see here, the factory is hard at work on the PAIN Blu-ray game, which is available exclusively in Europe.To see the entire gallery, click here.[Via Blu-ray.com]
iSuppli estimates the iPhone 3GS costs $179 to make
Did you know that after it is broken down into all of its composite metals and materials and parts, your human body is really only worth about $4.50? Yup, you're cheap in the broadest sense -- all of that oxygen, magnesium, iron, and sodium isn't actually worth all that much in the rare metals market. In fact, according to iSuppli, you're worth way less than the iPhone 3GS -- they looked at the component parts for Apple's new handset, and calculated its raw value at around $178.96. The most expensive components are the 16gb flash memory (ringing in at around $25 per part) and the display (at $19), all the way down to the audio codec board, which Apple reportedly picked up for a cheap $1.15. Of course, there was lots more cheaper stuff (we assume the screws weren't a buck each), but iSuppli didn't actually go that granular. That also doesn't include any of the non-hardware costs: shipping fees, R&D, distribution, marketing, and so on. But it's way more than you're worth, and it's $40 more than the Palm Pre costs to make, too.Lest you start worrying that your spouse will start valuing their iPhone more than your body, however, there is a silver lining. If you break down to the mineral components of the human body, we're cheap, but the actual components of the body are pretty expensive, it turns out. Expensive to the tune of $45 million, if you count up all the money you could pick up from taking out your bone marrow, extracting your DNA, and selling off a lung or two. Just like the iPhone's parts, when assembled, are worth more than iSuppli's $179, you too pick up some value when assembled the right way.[via Engadget]
Study finds horrible working conditions at Microsoft, Dell ODM factory
Despite the fact that the world economy is suffering from cutbacks in nearly every job sector, factory workers in places such as the Meitai factory in Dongguan City, Guangdong, China -- which assembles and produces keyboards for companies including Lenovo, Microsoft, Dell, HP and IBM -- have been relatively insulated from the downturn, and their jobs secure. The National Labor Committee has conducted a covert operation to investigate the working conditions at the factory, however, and found them to be less than acceptable. The workers -- who arguably are not compensated very well to begin with -- are cheated out of wages for negligible wrongdoing, forced into overtime, fed food that even a Dickens character would refuse, work twelve hours a day seven days a week, and sleep in dorms which are "primitive" (yes, workers live at the factory). The report that the NLC has compiled is quite long, detailed, depressing, and begins, ironically, with a Bill Gates quote. Hit the read link for the full story.Update: It looks like the source material at the read links is only working intermittently. [Via Boing Boing]
Sony to shutter Japanese TV plant as part of restructuring efforts
Hey Sony -- we know that experiencing your first annual operating loss in 14 years calls for drastic measures, but this is bordering on downright rash. Barely a month after announcing that 16,000 employees would be axed, Sony has now revealed plans to close one of its two television plants in Japan and rid itself of 2,000 domestic full-time jobs as it attempts to "revive its electronics business." Of note, it's stated that those 2,000 -- which seem to be a part of the previously mentioned 16,000 figure -- will be shed via "early retirement and other programs." Just think what a 40-inch XEL-1 would do for business. No, seriously Sony, just think.[Image courtesy of DigitalWorldTokyo]
Tesla Motors to build new HQ, factory in San Jose
It's no surprise to see Tesla Motors giving even more attention to California -- after all, Los Angeles is home to its very first dealership -- and as soon as the requisite approvals go through, San Jose will become the site of its new headquarters and factory. Both facilities will be located on around 90 acres of land near Highway 237 in North San Jose, and early reports peg the city giving Tesla a 40-year lease with the first decade being "rent-free." The Golden State is also stepping in to provide a sweet tax-free rent-to-buy deal on the factory equipment, and in the end, the two projects could generate around 1,000 direct or indirect jobs. One question, Tesla: how's the employee discount?
Dell looking to sell factories to increase profitability
It looks like Dell is taking a rather drastic step to attempt to cut some of the costs that have been dragging it down in recent years, with The Wall Street Journal now reporting that the company plans to sell "most -- and possibly all -- of its factories" within the next 18 months -- if it can find some buyers, that is. As the paper notes, the factories were originally built to serve a PC market driven by corporate customers ordering large volumes of desktop PCs, but they've fast become a drag on the company as growth has shifted towards laptops sold at retail stores. While nothing is anywhere near official yet, the Journal pegs big contract manufacturers angling for a bigger piece of Dell's business as the most likely buyers, although there's a number of obstacles that could block such a sale, particularly when it comes to Dell's factories in the US. Dell is also said to be considering simply closing down some of the factories, and instead rely on those aforementioned contract manufacturers to build its PCs. Hit up the link below for the full saga and backstory.[Via Blogrunner, image courtesy J.P.R Sdn Bhd]
iPhone 3G accidentally snaps photo in factory, reveals long lost siblings
Unless you hit the jackpot at an Apple Store, you aren't apt to see this many iPhone 3Gs in one place without planning a meetup. As the story goes, one particular lady picked up one of Apple's latest handsets, took it home and began checking things out. Curiously, a trio of images were already on the Camera Roll. Upon viewing them, she noticed two snaps overcome with blur and the one you see above -- likely a rare look into an iPhone 3G factory. Not that we haven't see Apple products give away their place of origin before, but still interesting nonetheless. Now, scurry along and check out your own roll to see if any hidden treasures are waiting.[Via TUAW]
Inside the Phone Factory
Here's a sweet little treat. Over at ReMoveTheLabels.com, a poster's mom apparently bought an iPhone and found a surprise waiting for her on the onboard camera roll: three pictures. Two were blurry but the third is a real surprise: a picture straight from the iPhone production line. Look at all those luscious phones, waiting to be packed up and to go to good homes. These days, seeing that many iPhones at once is getting rarer and rarer, as they continue to sell out in US stores. Thanks, Guillermo Written by Erica Sadun
Zappos hires robots to take over inventory floor
Just think -- Zappos has been shipping out shoes .9284 minutes after you order them for years with mere humans running the show. Now, your new kicks will likely be at your doorstep moments after you think of ordering them. Said e-tailer has just completed implementation of Kiva Systems' Mobile Fulfillment System, which will see "a fleet of Kiva's mobile robotic drive units and inventory storage pods" hit the company's Shepherdsville, Kentucky facility. The move is being made to keep its distribution system in tip-top shape even with the addition of new products outside of just footwear, and unless some of those mechs grow a mind of their own, we'd say things should pan out just fine.[Via CNET]
Samsung to break ground on yet another LCD plant
Hey, someone has to take care of Planet Earth's insatiable appetite for LCD, right? Samsung is once again looking to expand its LCD manufacturing operations in China, this time by investing around $500 million to erect a new facility for cranking out the seemingly successful 82-inch panel (among others). Reportedly, the plant will eventually be used to pump out 40-, 46-, 57-, 70- and 82-inch LCD panels in order to "satisfy the robust market requirement," but there's no word given on how soon product will start to ship from its doors.
Reggie: Wii stock balance soon, Nintendo manufacturing more consoles each month
Nintendo is apparently not blind to the pain Wii console shortages cause, now made that much more worse by the shortages of Wii Fit, the hot new exergaming bundle. Reggie wants us to know that they're working on fixing the situation, although they pretty much have no idea as to when things will be better. With their monthly output upped from 1.8 million units a month to 2.4, Nintendo is indeed trying."Currently, demand is higher than supply, but we believe we'll soon get back to a more balanced situation," says Nintendo's resident name-taker, ass-kicker Reggie Fils-Aime. Unfortunately, that's all he had to say on the situation, leaving us all in the dark as to when the supply will start meeting the demand. Until then, we're forced to keep checking in with retailers and trying to find one online.[Via Go Nintendo]
AU Optronics pledges $9.3 billion to build two LCD factories
Call us crazy, but we're sensing a trend here. Just months after Samsung announced its intentions to expand an 8G LCD plant and merely hours after Matsushita trumpeted plans to spend $2.8 billion on constructing a new LCD factory of its own in Japan, along comes word that AU Optronics is following suit. This firm, however, is busting out a whopping $9.3 billion in order to erect two facilities "to meet demand for large-sized LCD TVs." Reportedly, one of the buildings will be situated in Taichung, Taiwan, and while it has yet to decide whether it will build 8.5G factories or ones that are even more advanced, we've got all ideas it will have orders lined up from day one, regardless.[Via Widescreen Review, image courtesy of FTIS]
Matsushita gears up to build $2.8 billion LCD factory in Japan
Looks like we're already starting to see some repercussions from the (very) recent deal struck between Panasonic and Hitachi. Reportedly, Matsushita -- known for its Panasonic brand -- is getting set to construct a $2.8 billion LCD factory in western Japan that it hopes to open by 2010. The move is said to be in response to the weakening demand for plasmas and the increasing demand for LCDs, and when everything goes operational, the plant should be able to crank out 15 million 32-inch LCD panels per year. Notably, the facility will be built by IPS Alpha Technology, which Matsushita will be a majority owner in after "buying out Toshiba and Hitachi's stake in the venture." Better yet, it's noted that IPS Alpha could also dabble in OLED technology, so yeah, you can consider our interest piqued.[Via About-Electronics]
