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Foxconn increases wages by 30 percent as deaths continue to mount
According to Reuters, Foxconn will be raising worker wages an additional 10% from the original 20% raise announced last week. Foxconn spokesman, Arthur Huang, said that the 30% base wage increase takes effect immediately. Foxconn admits that it hopes to earn the respect of its workers and raise efficiency with the pay increase while offsetting rising costs on the Chinese mainland. The company's shares fell by 2% following the announcement (in a market down just 0.4%, relatively), worried perhaps that the raise would erode operating profits. All this comes as more Foxconn deaths -- now at 12 -- are being reported. Family of Yan Li, a Foxconn engineer, claims that their son died of exhaustion after working non-stop for 34-hours, then returning for another 12-hours after a 10-hour break. Police have already ruled out suicide and homicide in the case. Nevertheless, Yan Li's family is demanding 250,000 yuan (about 25 times the worker's annual base salary) in compensation. Foxconn accepts no responsibility in the matter saying it would only pay out "humanitarian terms" to the family.
Apple rumored to begin paying Foxconn employees direct wages
Chinese website Zol -- which is owned by CBS Interactive -- is reporting that Apple may be moving toward a model of paying Foxconn employees direct subsidies, in the form of small percentages of the profits from whatever product line they work on. It's also interesting to note that the report claims that Apple has looked into the situation, and found that the general unhappiness of the workers and the recent spate of suicides could be attributed to low wages. The report says that Apple -- which apparently pays Foxconn 2.3 percent of the final retail price for a given product -- will pay an additional amount directly to the workers, which would give a significant boost to the roughly $132 they're currently pulling in per month. The actual payout numbers we're hearing -- around 1 to 2 percent of a retail price of the products manufactured -- don't exactly make sense so we're hoping to get clarification as to the breakdown if the rumor turns out to be true. The report also states that the iPad production line will be the first to benefit from the scheme. We have asked Apple for comment and will update if and when we hear back.
Top Chinese official calls for improved worker conditions in response to Foxconn deaths
The highest ranking official in the Guangdong province of China has called for improved conditions for workers in light of the recent slew of suicides at Hon Hai Precision Manufacturing, also known as Foxconn. Wang Yang, the provincial party secretary in the province where the suicides have taken place, said that the government must work together with the company to "take effective measures to prevent similar tragedies from happening again," While it's still not clear what is causing the deaths, Wang called for measures such as increasing sports and leisure activities for the workers, and improving communication between worker and employer. "Labor unions in private firms should be improved to facilitate better working conditions and more harmonious relations between workers and employers," he said, speaking at a conference in Shenzhen on Saturday, just about one day after Foxconn announced it would increase wages of workers up to 20 percent.
Foxconn raising wages, relocating 20 percent of Shenzhen workers closer to home (updated)
After a string of highly localized suicides at Foxconn's manufacturing campus captured the world's attention -- again -- the company has decided to increase worker wages by about 20 percent. Foxconn says that the pay raise had been planned for some time but did not say when it would be implemented. Mind you, a 20% bump in the third quarter is not unusual as Foxconn ramps up production for the holidays. In fact, Foxconn has given raises by as much as 50% in the past according to Vincent Chen, analyst at Yuanta Securities in Taipei. At the moment, Foxconn entry-level line workers are paid 900 yuan (about $131.80) per month -- remuneration that exceeds the local minimum wage in the area. And that's before bonuses and that oh-so tempting overtime pay are factored in. It's also worth noting that Foxconn is said by a factory worker surnamed Wang, to pay 100,000 yuan (about 10 times a worker's annual base salary) to families of suicide victims -- a sum he says has tempted some to their death. Update: CEO Terry Guo is being quoted as saying that Foxconn plans to relocate some facilities and about a fifth of its Shenzhen workforce (that's about 80,000 people based on the 400k estimates tossed around) to western parts of China so that the workers can be closer to their families. Meanwhile, Sony, Nokia, and Nintendo, all Foxconn customers, have joined Apple, Dell, and HP in expressing their public concern over the working conditions in Foxconn.
Another Foxconn employee commits suicide
Another Foxconn employee has committed suicide within the last few hours, several Chinese news sources are reporting. So far, we know that the employee was male, and that he died at the Longhua factory but no other details have been made available as of yet. This latest death comes just hours after the news that Foxconn employees were very recently asked to sign a letter saying that the company would pay no more than legal minimum wage for "injuries sustained outside the workplace." The letter, which was made public early this morning, caused Chairman of Hon Hai to say they were "taking it back" as the language was inappropriate. Foxconn, AKA Hon Hai Precision -- a massive Taiwan-based company with huge factories in China -- is responsible for manufacturing electronics for several major US companies, namely Apple, Dell, and HP. All three released statements about the state of affairs earlier today that essentially boil down to "we're looking into it." [Thanks, MakeChoice]
Apple, Dell, and HP comment on suicides as Foxconn CEO shows off the pool
On an 84-degree day (29 C) at a Chinese factory housing some 400,000 workers, at least 2 of them were enjoying the Foxconn swimming pool. We know this because the notoriously secretive Foxconn CEO, Terry Gou, was showing off some of the workers' facilities to the press to assure the world that he was not operating a sweatshop. Foxconn has received a great deal of attention lately after a rash of suicide attempts this year left 2 workers seriously injured and 9 people dead. While these numbers are relatively low compared to World Health Organization data showing a suicide rate of about 14 deaths per 100,000 Chinese, Foxconn contends that there were only one or two suicides a year previously at its Shenzhen factories. Today Gou announced that Foxconn has 70 psychiatrists and 100 voluntary workers trained to help prevent suicide. Great, problem solved. As you probably know, Foxconn is behind the assembly of many major consumer electronics brands including HP, Nokia, Dell, and Apple -- the latter two have come out with statements expressing their respective concern. Apple had this to say: "We are saddened and upset by the recent suicides at Foxconn. We're in direct contact with Foxconn senior management and we believe they are taking this matter very seriously. A team from Apple is independently evaluating the steps they are taking to address these tragic events and we will continue our ongoing inspections of the facilities where our products are made." And Dell this: "We expect our suppliers to employ the same high standards we do in our own facilities. We enforce these standards through a variety of tools, including the Electronics Industry code of conduct, business reviews with suppliers, self-assessments and audits." During today's press event, Tang Wenying, a young Foxconn line supervisor said, "This is a good place to work because they treat us better than many (other) Chinese factories." And that may be the most worrisome aspect of this: Foxconn, by all accounts, provides some of the best conditions for the Chinese workers it employs. What does that say about the anonymous (and thus, invisible) chain of small suppliers and secondary assembly facilities nobody reads about? Update: HP says that it is also investigating "the Foxconn practices that may be associated with these tragic events."
Nintendo Wiimote RVL-036 mysteriously clears the FCC
We can't say for sure what's new here but that wireframe outline is most definitely a Wiimote. The Nintendo-branded Bluetooth device just passed through the FCC courtesy of Hon Hai Precision, aka Foxconn. There's very little in the way of detail here other than a new RVL-036 model number reminiscent of the console's "revolution" roots. Perhaps the new Wiimote finally integrates the MotionPlus add-on? Who knows, but it certainly makes sense given Miyamoto's recent comments. At least we can be certain that it's exactly 12 times better than the model RVL-003 Wiimote shipping today. Another FCC document grab after the break.
WSJ: Apple 'developing new iPhone,' plus another for Verizon (update: iPhone HD, front-facing camera?)
You heard right, folks -- according to the Wall Street Journal, Apple is currently "developing a new iPhone to debut this summer," and as if that weren't enough, it's also "working on another model for US mobile phone operator Verizon Wireless." As of this moment, details about the break are nowhere to be found, but it's not like either tidbit is shocking. This summer will mark the one-year anniversary of the iPhone 3GS, and if the Cupertino-based company keeps with its historical refresh pattern, we're just a few months out from seeing the latest and greatest iPhone. There's also been no shortage of iPhone-to-Verizon rumors over the years, with the latest of 'em happening during the run-up to the iPad's launch. Update: We're now learning that the "next iPhone is being manufactured by Taiwanese contract manufacturer Hon Hai Precision Industry," which just so happens to be the same outfit responsible for crafting all prior iPhones. That's according to "people briefed on the matter" and sourced by the WSJ. It's also stated that the world's first CDMA iPhone will be manufactured by Pegatron Technology, which we caught just last week dabbling in some of NVIDIA's Tegra 2-based wares. If all goes well, Pegatron could begin mass production of the CDMA iPhone (exact model not disclosed) this September, so it's hard to say if Sprint or Verizon would have access before the all-too-lucrative holiday season. As for quotes on the matter? Most everyone involved wouldn't say a word, but an AT&T spokesman did utter the following: "There has been lots of incorrect speculation on CDMA iPhones for a long time. We haven't seen one yet and only Apple knows when that might occur." On a week that couldn't possibly get any bigger for Apple, that's exactly what just happened. Everyone suspected that a fourth-generation iPhone was in the works, but having an outlet like the WSJ confirm it just makes the summer that much harder to wait for. There's also the possibility that 2010 will be the final year that AT&T retains its death-grip on the iPhone, but by the sound of this report, it still seems as if the nation's largest GSM carrier may nab exclusive rights on the latest iPhone. We also can't help but wonder about the future of a true 4G iPhone -- will Sprint manage to grab a WiMAX-enabled version? Will Verizon get its grubby paws on an LTE model? We figured only Jobs would know, but now... there might just be someone else out there willing to spill the beans. Update 2: Soon after the news broke, we were informed that the next-generation iPhone would be announced on June 22nd (a Tuesday, naturally) and would be dubbed the iPhone HD (a name that has been tossed around before). That certainly makes sense given that Apple almost certainly has to up the pixel count in order to rival the EVO 4G, HD2 and all of those other high-res handsets, but we're still reserving judgment until we see that fateful media invite hit our inbox. Update 3: John Gruber's just weighed in with some more tidbits, in his characteristically polite way. Gruber says the next model will have an A4-class SoC, a 960 x 640 display, a front-facing camera, and that iPhone OS 4.0 will enable third-party multitasking. A pretty safe set of predictions, in all, but Gruber's done pretty well in the past, so we'll just have to wait and see. [Thanks, Chris]
Apple 'Tablet PC' manufactured by Foxconn, shipping in Q1?
It's been what, five whole days since we've heard any fresh rumors on the Apple Tablet. That ends today with DigiTimes claiming that Foxconn (aka, Hon Hai Precision) not Quanta has secured manufacturing rights to Apple's "tablet PC." Its sources claim that the device will focus on "e-book functionality" and hit the market in Q1 with initial shipments set in the 300,000 to 400,000 range -- a modest, but healthy number when you consider that Apple sells about 2.6 million Macs per quarter. DigiTimes claims it will have a 10.6-inch panel (not 10.7- or 9.6-inch) and that the panels could be sourced from Innolux Display, not WinTek. If nothing else, at least the Taiwan-based rumor monger has quit calling the device a netbook as all these rumors coalesce around a Q1 launch.[Thanks, Chan N.]
