Foxconn Denies Plans For New US Operations

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Foxconn Denies Plans For New US Operations

Posted by timothy on Friday November 9, 2012 @02:12PM from the wishful-thinking dept.

pigrabbitbear writes with an update to the story, based on a DigiTimes report, that iPhone maker Foxconn would be opening a new factory in the U.S. "Foxconn makes a lot of stuff, but as it's one of Apple primary manufacturing partners, lots of people jumped to the salacious conclusion that a U.S.-based Foxconn factory could finally produce an American-made iPhone. Foxconn denied the DigiTimes report today. A company spokeswoman told CNET that the company actually 'already has multiple facilities based in the U.S.' but that 'there are no current plans to expand our operations there at this time.' Foxconn doesn't make iPhones in the existing U.S. factories, and they don't plan to."

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slightly off-topic by tloh · 2012-11-09 14:25 · Score: 5, Interesting

I've always been curious why the manufacturing outfit is named "FOX"conn. In Chinese folklore, (which is apolitical and applies equally to mainland as well as Taiwan) foxes have a notorious reputation as agents of evil. In stories, the fox spirit, "hu li jin" often takes human form as a young, nubile, seductress and sets out to corrupt scholars and governing officials. Or maybe I'm reading too much into it. Afterall, the most successful tech company stateside is named after the fruit that caused Man's expulsion from paradise according to the bible.

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1. Re:slightly off-topic by ThatsMyNick · 2012-11-09 14:38 · Score: 4, Interesting
  
  I am not sure if you can really split up a word like that. But in answer to your question, fox is known for in cunningness (it is the same as the west).
2. Re:slightly off-topic by Anonymous Coward · 2012-11-09 14:39 · Score: 2, Informative
  
  What company is named "Fruit of The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil"?
3. Re:slightly off-topic by DNS-and-BIND · 2012-11-09 15:36 · Score: 5, Informative
  
  Uh, hello, because "FOX"conn is the English name of a Chinese company? It's just a trade name. In Chinese it means something like "wealthy healthy scholar technology group". The company's real name is Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd. where Hon is a kind of goose and Hai means ocean. Jeez, for someone who supposedly thinks a lot, you sure don't do much thinking outside the box.
  
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4. Re:slightly off-topic by jhoegl · 2012-11-09 15:53 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  Except the Fox News.
  When the Fox News is seen in the wild, it shows its ability to ignore all threats by assuming it is the alpha of everything around it.
  It is an interesting defense mechanism which seems to work on 47% of the people in the USA.
5. Re:slightly off-topic by martin-boundary · 2012-11-09 15:54 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  Come on, AAPLy some common sense!
6. Re:slightly off-topic by Scarletdown · 2012-11-09 15:58 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  Afterall, the most successful tech company stateside is named after the fruit that caused Man's expulsion from paradise according to the bible.
  There are no references within canon Christian or Jewish mythology that identifies what the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil actually was.
  
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  This space unintentionally left blank.
7. Re:slightly off-topic by WGFCrafty · 2012-11-09 17:47 · Score: 2
  
  Except in many American Indian's folklore where they are evil and thought to be the animal embodiment of shape-shifters/Indian sorcerers.
8. Re:slightly off-topic by tlhIngan · 2012-11-09 19:32 · Score: 2
  
  Except the Chinese don't refer to it as Foxconn. It's known has Hon Hai Precision Electronics. That's the real name it does business as. Foxconn is its English branding name it uses for the western world because "Hon Hai" may get distorted when translated. Plus it's also way easier to spell over the phone with someone whose only language is English.
  If you ever get anything assembled at Foxconn, your assemblies come back on boxes marked with Hon Hai on them.
9. Re:slightly off-topic by _xeno_ · 2012-11-09 20:44 · Score: 4, Interesting
  
  Although there is a reason that apples are identified as that fruit: it's a horrible Latin pun.
  Unfortunately the difference is in the diatric marks over the letter and Slashdot can't figure out how to deal with UTF-8 because they might have to look up the BIDI control characters, but basically "apple" and "evil" are both "malum" (but with a different sounding "a", I guess) in Latin.
  It can also be traced to Greek mythology, but I like the idea of it being a bad Latin pun that everyone latched on to.
  
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US IS A THIRD WORLD COUNTRY! by CajunArson · 2012-11-09 14:26 · Score: 3, Interesting

OK, so all those snarky posts about how the U.S. is a worthless third world country because Foxconn was going to open factories here?
GUESS WHAT: Now the U.S. is a worthless third world country because Foxconn isn't going to open factories here!
That's the beuatiful thing about already have a predetermined conclusion, the facts always fit.

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It was according to "Market Watchers" by TaoPhoenix · 2012-11-09 14:27 · Score: 3, Interesting

So who Watches the Market Watchers?
Someone trolled Digitimes well apparently. Everybody got their ad clicks in already. I don't know if anyone "loses face" in events like this. Does the media care about posting incorrect stories?

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Slavery laws are too strict by SampleFish · 2012-11-09 14:31 · Score: 3, Funny

he went on to say "The only thing we manufacture at U.S. facilities is the hate a greed required to continue pushing our sweatshops to new productivity levels."
Lots of gullible people, like slashdot by gargeug · 2012-11-09 14:33 · Score: 2

"...lots of people jumped to the salacious conclusion that a U.S.-based Foxconn factory could finally produce an American-made iPhone..." Including freaking /. itself at http://news.slashdot.org/story/12/11/09/0136211/foxconn-sees-new-source-of-cheap-labor-the-united-states. I've watched this site slowly assimilate into the blogspam world, and here is a perfect example.
1. Re:Lots of gullible people, like slashdot by JustOK · 2012-11-09 14:40 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  Slashdot is a Dice Holdings, Inc. company
  
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2. Re:Lots of gullible people, like slashdot by gargeug · 2012-11-09 15:00 · Score: 3, Interesting
  
  I looked up Dice Holdings, Inc and at first believed it was some \. jape, like a fake website constructed to mess with people. But further investigation showed it was no jape at all, and the crap blogspam I have seen populating this site now makes perfect sense. Thank you JustOK.
US slaped by market invisible hand by manu0601 · 2012-11-09 14:43 · Score: 4, Insightful

Given that iPhone assembly require human work, it was quite unlikely that Foxconn could find cheaper manufacturing costs in US rather than in China. The only hopes to bring back production in the US are a huge raise in transport costs (as if we ran out of oil for instance), or to give up on worldwide free trade.
Clearly it's because of the election by PopeRatzo · 2012-11-09 14:48 · Score: 3, Insightful

The plan was that if Mitt Romney was elected president, Foxconn would start building dormitories in the US.
They wanted to "partner" with the new private prison industry and have a two-fer.
Now those dreams are shattered because Americans are getting all uppity again that Obama's re-elected. Thinking that workers deserve "rights" and "safety" and "dignity" and all that liberal crapola. So Foxconn's going to go all Galt on our ass and keep their operations in a country that really understands the endgame of capitalism: China.
No joke.

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1. Re:Clearly it's because of the election by PopeRatzo · 2012-11-10 00:38 · Score: 2
  
  Please just shut the fuck up. It's really gotten old.
  I'm sorry, you're right. I should have been more sensitive, Mrs Romney.
  
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How the U.S. Lost Out on iPhone Work by bill_mcgonigle · 2012-11-09 15:13 · Score: 4, Insightful

Quote:

When an Apple team visited, the Chinese plant's owners were already constructing a new wing. "This is in case you give us the contract," the manager said, according to a former Apple executive. The Chinese government had agreed to underwrite costs for numerous industries, and those subsidies had trickled down to the glass-cutting factory. It had a warehouse filled with glass samples available to Apple, free of charge. The owners made engineers available at almost no cost. They had built on-site dormitories so employees would be available 24 hours a day.
The Chinese plant got the job.
"The entire supply chain is in China now," said another former high-ranking Apple executive. "You need a thousand rubber gaskets? That's the factory next door. You need a million screws? That factory is a block away. You need that screw made a little bit different? It will take three hours."

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Re:A "salacious" report? by Tim+the+Gecko · 2012-11-09 15:18 · Score: 4, Informative

But of course!
1. lustful or lecherous.
2. (of writings, pictures, etc.) obscene; grossly indecent.
Some people harbor the fallacious belief that Slashdot has editors.
Communists vs. Unions by dtmancom · 2012-11-09 15:21 · Score: 2, Insightful

Are there ANY Chinese companies that chose to open a factory in the US, where they would have to deal with employee unions?
1. Re:Communists vs. Unions by AK+Marc · 2012-11-09 16:44 · Score: 2
  
  What do the unions want, softer suicide nets? There is no problem with unions in the US. You hire workers, and if they unionize, you refuse to negotiate. No union has ever negotiated a contract that the management didn't sign. So unions are the fault of the management.
  
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2. Re:Communists vs. Unions by sethstorm · 2012-11-09 19:48 · Score: 2
  
  China practices totalitarian Communism, which is worse. Given that Foxconn operates in China, the mainland factories are effectively the property of the PRC.
  
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But it WOULD be hilarious by gelfling · 2012-11-09 16:05 · Score: 3, Funny

To watch the lemming herd of slacktards at Occupy Wall St tweet on their new $2,000 US built iPhones that they didn't pay for either about the fucking evil that is money.
The answer is: tons of slaves. by sethstorm · 2012-11-09 19:40 · Score: 2

That boils down to large and pliant labor pool that won't ask questions about bad conditions.

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Re:Maybe they are looking at Mexico...NO! by Alex+Belits · 2012-11-09 20:34 · Score: 2

labor

Republicans
lol

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