On 12.03.29, In After an inside peek at Foxconn, the private manufacturer that Apple uses to create their products, Apple decides to make changes to the working conditions.
Earlier this year, one of Foxconn’s plants was investigated to see the working conditions there. Although the working conditions weren’t horrible, there were some faults, including unpaid hours and long overtime.
Apple did not previously know about these harsh conditions; CEO Tim Cook is starting a project that will improve these conditions over time.
After discussing with Apple, Foxconn has agreed to improve housing, work hours, and safety procedures. Also, they are hiring thousands of more workers.
The agreement to increase working conditions may increase costs for other Chinese manufacturers as well. Chinese laborers are generally paid low wages. However, increased working conditions would also include increased wages. With better conditions at one of China’s biggest private manufacturers, other private companies would probably increase their conditions as well.
Also, these increased conditions would mean a higher cost for Foxconn, which results in a higher consumer price for these products. However, labor cost is only a small portion of the cost for Apple’s products; these increase in price would only be minor.
The increased worker-housing and the lower worker-hours are only the first steps into making working conditions better at Foxconn.
