Earlier quoted context omitted.
While Foxconn has... good history?
Foxconn offers robust safety net for its employees… (I’ll walk myself out now).
Literally literally.
iPhone maker Wistron quits, saying Apple didn't let it make a profit
11–20 of 170 posts
Re: iPhone maker Wistron quits, saying Apple didn't let it make a profit
#12Didn't they also have some issues with payments and working conditions for their factory employees?
Correct. Story seems to be, Wistron was screwing over employees to save costs, and used those low-costs to secure a deal with Apple. Then they got caught by the government, and now have to play by the rules. Because of this, they asked Apple for more money, and Apple said no. So now the deal is done.
The deal really shouldn’t have happened in the first place, had Wistron played fair from day one.
Re: iPhone maker Wistron quits, saying Apple didn't let it make a profit
#13https://nypost.com/2020/12/15/riots-at-apple-plant-in-india-...
this is what apple does. they use their clout, then they turn their back and play ignorant whilst placing unrealistic demands on the subcontractors who then place those demand on the labour.
from: https://www.macrumors.com/2023/02/14/only-half-of-indian-iph...
> "Apple engineers told that Chinese iPhone suppliers and government officials have a "whatever it takes" approach to win iPhone orders, work was often completed weeks ahead of schedule at "inexplicable speed". In India, [we] are not running at this pace. "There just isn't a sense of urgency," one Apple engineer remarked."
Remember, this is a $3 trillion company, with resources greater than most countries. A company built on tight control of information. If you see lots of positive or misdrecting comments, it's not necessarily a coincidence (imo).
Re: iPhone maker Wistron quits, saying Apple didn't let it make a profit
#14So... is it possible to make iPhones outside of China or not?
Yes, iPhones are also manufactured in Brazil and India. This is largely due to trade barriers in those countries.
Yea, I think it started with trade barriers, but I think Apple likely wants to increase non-China manufacturing to reduce their risk a bit. Tensions with China have been a bit high and when you're Apple's size, it can be good to lessen the risk there. Even if it's unlikely that something would cause a disruption, when you're a nearly $3T company it's probably wise to diversify that risk. Apple's annual revenue is greater than the GDP of many countries like Finland or New Zealand. Ramping up manufacturing in India could be a good hedge against China or the US doing something that might impact their exports from China.
Re: iPhone maker Wistron quits, saying Apple didn't let it make a profit
#15Didn't they also have some issues with payments and working conditions for their factory employees?
Correct. Story seems to be, Wistron was screwing over employees to save costs, and used those low-costs to secure a deal with Apple. Then they got caught by the government, and now have to play by the rules. Because of this, they asked Apple for more money, and Apple said no. So now the deal is done. The deal really shouldn’t have happened in the first place, had Wistron played fair from day one.
Pretty sure Apple is partly guilty as well. I really doubt they didn’t know exactly how Wistron was bidding so low.
Re: iPhone maker Wistron quits, saying Apple didn't let it make a profit
#16Earlier quoted context omitted.
Correct. Story seems to be, Wistron was screwing over employees to save costs, and used those low-costs to secure a deal with Apple. Then they got caught by the government, and now have to play by the rules. Because of this, they asked Apple for more money, and Apple said no. So now the deal is done. The deal really shouldn’t have happened in the first place, had Wistron played fair from day one.
Pretty sure Apple is partly guilty as well. I really doubt they didn’t know exactly how Wistron was bidding so low.
They might have suspected, but I doubt they formally knew. I would guess it was a type of "don't tell me, I don't want to know, plausible deniability and all".
Re: iPhone maker Wistron quits, saying Apple didn't let it make a profit
#17Not just Apple manufacturing, seems like they're divesting from India in general after 10 years, also killing their plans to make laptops and EV components. My understanding is they were barely making money throughout their time in India. Wonder if Tata takeover of iphone assembly going to do better? Kind of expected outcome for TWnese companies known to treat their labourers like shit and India gov unable to manage their population from breaking things after being treated like shit. Which has caused problems for more than just Wistron. Yes it's good workers standing up for themselves, but smart thing is to do that after you've proven indispensible, otherwise reinforces India being difficult place to do business in.
Re: iPhone maker Wistron quits, saying Apple didn't let it make a profit
#18"We didn't understand our costs, so we underbid and now are blaming Apple." - Wistron
It does seem likely that this is a case of a bit of column A, a bit of column B.
Apple very well may have unrealistic demands, but I believe it's also likely that Wistron may not have dealt with the level of QC, precision, and consistency that is expected of Apple products and based their estimates on experiences of working with more typical hardware companies.
Re: iPhone maker Wistron quits, saying Apple didn't let it make a profit
#19Didn't they also have some issues with payments and working conditions for their factory employees?
From TFA:
> Back in 2020, there was a major riot at its Bangalore plant over underpaid wages, with millions of dollars’ worth of damage done. Both the Indian government and Apple investigated, and both found that Wistron was indeed guilty of serious labor law violations, including underpayment of its workers.
Re: iPhone maker Wistron quits, saying Apple didn't let it make a profit
#20https://nypost.com/2020/12/15/riots-at-apple-plant-in-india-... this is what apple does. they use their clout, then they turn their back and play ignorant whilst placing unrealistic demands on the subcontractors who then place those demand on the labour. from: https://www.macrumors.com/2023/02/14/only-half-of-indian-iph... > "Apple engineers told that Chinese iPhone suppliers and government officials have a "whatever…
At least our current surface finishing technology has advanced so we no longer see the kid sized hand prints [1]. "Apple’s cobalt batteries are built on the backs of child labor in mines, causing severe physical harm to children and violating international standards of human rights." [2] Their PR: "Apple will use 100 percent recycled cobalt in batteries by 2025" [3].
[1] Kid sized hand prints on old victorian roof tiles, https://www.reddit.com/r/interestingasfuck/comments/13oser2/...
[2] 2022, Child Labor and the Human Rights Violations Embedded in Producing Technology, https://www.culawreview.org/journal/child-labor-and-the-huma...
[3] https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2023/04/apple-will-use-100-pe...