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Foxconn May Close Factories In China

Posted by Soulskill on from the dying-for-some-better-pr dept.

ChiefMonkeyGrinder writes "Foxconn, the manufacturer whose clients include Apple, Dell, and HP, is on the verge of pulling out of China after a spate of suicides. The CEO has accused workers of killing themselves for financial compensation, and the company has stopped suicide payments to suicide victims' families. Foxconn's CEO also told investors that it is considering moving its production operations to Taiwan, and automating many parts of its business, a move which could see 800,000 workers lose their jobs."

2 of 476 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Suicide Rates by mooingyak · · Score: 5, Informative

    First, you'd need Chinese rates rather than Canadian ones, as there are non-trivial cultural differences in play.

    Second, you'd need rates for the specific demographics that are employed at the factory, and not just ones for the population as a whole. In the US, the elderly have a higher rate than the population as a whole, but the elderly are less likely to be employed in a factory.

    Last, as I understand it, they've had 9 suicides at the factory, not just 9 suicides by people employed by the factory. The article isn't clear on whether Foxconn paid benefits for any suicide by an employee or just ones that happen on Foxconn property, but if it's the latter it's certainly a motivator.

    --
    William of Ockham had no beard. The most likely explanation is that it was chewed off by squirrels every morning.
  2. Re:So.. factories are *moving* within china by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    Taiwan = RoC: Republic of China
    Mainland China = PRC: People's Republic of China...

    And that doesn't even consider the eventual reunification that *both* sides desire. (although the desired terms are wildly different...)

    You really open a can of worms with that one. You're right that a significant minority want unification if differences could be resolved, but this is not a common goal. For instance, my wife is Taiwanese, and she and her family do NOT want unification. The previously elected president Chen Shui-Bian was the first president in the current government not from the Kuomintang party but from the DPP, a party that is pro-independence. Even the current president from the KMT, Ma Ying-Jeou, likely does not want unification, but rather stronger economic ties. Most Taiwanese favor the status quo-- de facto political sovereignty without severing ties with China by formally announcing independence (source).

    So, no, the factories are not moving within China.