Live data from Hacker News

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

9to5mac.com

121–130 of 170 posts

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

#121
post #96
post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is part of it, but a bigger part is simply that Walmart approached suppliers with a proposed volume that would require the company to rebuild themselves as an operation in order to meet that demand and the required service levels, at the price Walmart was willing to pay. If they succeeded (many didn't, ending in bankruptcy), the supplier was now trapped: no one could offer Walmart levels of volume, which the sup…

I remember a claim (from Vlassic itself?) also that Walmart pushed them into producing larger volume SKU's, against their (Vlassic's) detailed data on usage, shelf life, etc. Result: more mouldy pickles in peoples refrigerators. Hurt Vlassic as a brand, not really in consumer interest, but Walmart could advertize a $/volume nobody could match. I met an independent trucker who said he sometimes did pressure relief for…

Wow, both examples of single metrics actually hurting the efficiency of the system as a whole.

Mouldy pickles aint good.

Underutilized trucks aint good either.

Remember that when somebody starts talking about how what we have is just a Free Market and the market forces make everything optimized and smooth.

Yes it does, but we don't have a perfect Free Market. It's as elusive as the the perfect Communism.

(Mother Nature is a neutral judge though and keeps score.)

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

#122

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There be dragons. Better a high trust society with some checks and balances than one ruled by "don't write down anything" sociopaths.

Which one do you think you currently live in?

Regardless when it's in my power I'd rather encourage a high trust society.

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

#123
post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The alternative route people would prefer is for people in charge of these companies to act ethically and not try to squeeze everyone around them for every cent of profit possible. Especially if you're already one of the richest companies to ever exist. That's not very realistic, though, since sociopathy is essentially taught in business schools now.

Everyone is trying to squeeze everyone else, including you. This isn't about sociopathy, this is just the human condition.

And yet somehow, not too long ago before the sociopaths were allowed to squeeze people, it was possible to buy a house and have a family on one income and your local grocery store could make that happen for it's employees. Now Walmart will literally openly admit full time employees cannot make enough to survive and teach their own full time employees how to beg the government for enough resources to live.

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

#124
post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You mean by installing the suicidal protection net, Foxconn barely makes it? Foxconn has 1m3 employees. If they made just 137m in profit - that's just $8 profit per employee a month.

"just" 8$ per employee/m versus which similar industry's standard?

$8 per employee per month is ridiculously low, no matter the industry standard.

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

#125
post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The alternative route people would prefer is for people in charge of these companies to act ethically and not try to squeeze everyone around them for every cent of profit possible. Especially if you're already one of the richest companies to ever exist. That's not very realistic, though, since sociopathy is essentially taught in business schools now.

Everyone is trying to squeeze everyone else, including you. This isn't about sociopathy, this is just the human condition.

Then we are just blind mice in the maze and can just as well stop talking now. Excuse me, I have some carbon to release into the atmosphere.

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

#126
post #116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

That is not my experience at all. It's even used by sports announcers. As an example: "The offense needs to move with more sense of urgency given the clock."

In the workplace it's deployed against those with a blunted affect, ie on the autism or ADHD spectrum. If you're not visibly freaking out with everyone else, it's because you don't care. Sports probably doesn't have the same numbers of these populations as tech.

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

#127
You can hear the western executive think: India has lots of people and poor people specifically, so let's just roll out the China model there.

They're going to be in for a shock. India does not have the "submissive communist" mindset where the individual sacrifices everything for the greater good of society, tolerating near-infinite abuse and exploitation.

That loyalty model breaks much sooner. And whilst it incidentally breaks in disruptive ways (riots), more often than not it manifests as silent sabotage. There will be instability and if there's anything fatal to manufacturing...

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

#128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's asymmetrical for the most part on a lot of stuff Was listening to Bloomberg the other day and they were talking about how Walmart is the biggest grocer in US. They have pricing power because for example they constitute something over 5% of all Heinz sales. Similar for paper products from one of the big companies like Procter & Gamble. The inverse is not true, as you are unlikely to find any vendor who Walmart ma…

I've never understood this. If you're not making enough profit - or even loosing money - selling to a large client, you are better off without them. Profit should come before everything else, including growth.

Not enough profit is different from loosing money.

Here the vendors are simply making less money because their product is part of a highly competitive marketplace.

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

#129

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's asymmetrical for the most part on a lot of stuff Was listening to Bloomberg the other day and they were talking about how Walmart is the biggest grocer in US. They have pricing power because for example they constitute something over 5% of all Heinz sales. Similar for paper products from one of the big companies like Procter & Gamble. The inverse is not true, as you are unlikely to find any vendor who Walmart ma…

I've never understood this. If you're not making enough profit - or even loosing money - selling to a large client, you are better off without them. Profit should come before everything else, including growth.

Not enough profit is different from loosing money.

Here the vendors are simply making less money because their product is part of a highly competitive marketplace. Furthermore, their position is weakened because they are poorly differentiated from their competition.

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

#130
post #105
post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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.

[dead]
Post reply on HN