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iPhone maker Wistron quits, saying Apple didn't let it make a profit

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Re: iPhone maker Wistron quits, saying Apple didn't let it make a profit

#101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's a difference between over-paying suppliers and being literally the best in the world at squeezing suppliers, which Apple is IMO. You can argue (and I will argue) that Apple's skill at squeezing their suppliers while still maintaining reliable supply chains is a huge part of why they're the biggest company in the world (and also why Tim Cook and not Scott Forstall or Jony Ive succeeded Jobs). That squeezing ha…

"those who do business with Dell, go out of business"

I fail to understand the negative votes (above), Dell did and does exactly what is attributed to Walmart and others in this thread. It is known among manufacturers but held in secrecy like so much in that business. Source: multiple years in used computer industry in California

Re: iPhone maker Wistron quits, saying Apple didn't let it make a profit

#102

https://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…

> If you see lots of positive or misdrecting comments, it's not necessarily a coincidence (imo).

And right there the topic drowns in whataboutisms before it disappears from the frontpage.

Re: iPhone maker Wistron quits, saying Apple didn't let it make a profit

#103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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".

> I would guess it was a type of "don't tell me, I don't want to know, plausible deniability and all". Imagine something like due diligence laws for making business contracts, so you can't really blame plausible deniability anymore.

That's the core idea behind the EU's supply chain laws. No matter what, anyone on the upper levels can get busted - it's a massive incentive for everyone to make sure their supply chain is not skirting around or openly sharting on laws. And it's also an incentive to not look the other way when you know that a vendor's bid is very very low.

Re: iPhone maker Wistron quits, saying Apple didn't let it make a profit

#104
post #82
post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As an aside, it’s ridiculous that video got flagged as a video for kids and suggests downloading the YouTube Kids app.

And there's no way to give feedback that it's been miscategorised

FWIW I think the uploader sets this flag, not some algorithm.

Re: iPhone maker Wistron quits, saying Apple didn't let it make a profit

#105
post #58

https://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…

> this is what apple does This is what globalism does. Take the environmental destruction and shitty working conditions that would never be allowed in your own country to other countries and centralize the profits from doing so into the hands of a few.

This is what capitalism does. Crossing borders might make things easier because laws and the cost of doing business will vary, but using your power to squeeze every cent you possibly can out of your business partners is a function of capitalism and not globalism.

Re: iPhone maker Wistron quits, saying Apple didn't let it make a profit

#106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It's also true that Apple is very well known for very hard negotiation… No successful company is over-paying suppliers.

> No successful company is over-paying suppliers. If Apple did not over-pay their suppliers, the M1 would not have been manufactured on the 5nm node.

That isn't over-paying. That's paying what they need to get the best. Unless you have some evidence that they paid X for 5nm when they could have paid less.

Re: iPhone maker Wistron quits, saying Apple didn't let it make a profit

#107

https://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…

> a sense of urgency I've never heard this phrase from anyone that wasn't nakedly seeking power and compliance from others.

I first heard it from the military, where training seeks to recreate the stressful fast-pace conditions of an actual battle or war.

Years later I started hearing it in business too, as if management circles thought it would be useful in increasing production rates. Not accounting for the fact that levels of urgency similar to military training may not be sustainable in peacetime, and result in workforce burnout and other problems.

A better alternative I’ve seen in high-impact academic research groups is “focus”, rather than urgency. Focused effort produces research results, and can even be energizing rather than draining and burnout inducing. I would hope business circles would adopt that academic approach rather than the military one.

Re: iPhone maker Wistron quits, saying Apple didn't let it make a profit

#108
post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And there's no way to give feedback that it's been miscategorised

FWIW I think the uploader sets this flag, not some algorithm.

It's not that simple, YouTube itself can also set it, and I'm not sure how that works, maybe it's algorithmic. Sometimes it's done manually.

Re: iPhone maker Wistron quits, saying Apple didn't let it make a profit

#109
Apple does help its suppliers to make a profit -- but the amount of profit that sustains a healthy set of vendors for Apple, at quality levels and corporate practice levels that Apple evaluates as "fair".

Now, you may criticize that this holds vendors over a barrel and squeezes them to narrow margins, etc. But at least give Apple credit for having a view to the long run and trying to create a pool of vendors that it can rely on in a sustainable way, and not just some surge capacity for the next quarter only to drop them. Apple thinks longer than that. Their procurement function is quite skilled.

And it's not like the vendors would magically have some source of business at better terms than Apple that would be good for them in the long run either. You want suppliers to somehow be raking in great margins in excess of what was "fair"? You want an employer who's more clueless and lets you make lots of extra on the top?

A successful supplier to Apple knows what it's capable of and what its costs are, signs on to grow with Apple and become successful, and share in the practices that make a company efficient, skilled, productive. They can choose to join this train. Or not. It's voluntary.

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