Foxconn Denies Plans For New US Operations

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."

Comments

slightly off-topic

[tloh]

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.

Re:slightly off-topic

[ThatsMyNick]

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).

Re:slightly off-topic

[DNS-and-BIND]

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.

Re:slightly off-topic

[jhoegl]

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.

Re:slightly off-topic

[martin-boundary]

Come on, AAPLy some common sense!

Re:slightly off-topic

[Scarletdown]

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.

Re:slightly off-topic

[_xeno_]

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.

Re:Lots of gullible people, like slashdot

[JustOK]

Slashdot is a Dice Holdings, Inc. company

US slaped by market invisible hand

[manu0601]

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.

How the U.S. Lost Out on iPhone Work

[bill_mcgonigle]

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."

Re:A "salacious" report?

[Tim the Gecko]

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.