AfterDawn: News

Foxconn installs nets to stop factory worker suicides?

Last month we reported that Foxconn was raising worker salaries up to 70 percent amidst a flood of worker suicides at their Chinese factory.

The company, probably best known for manufacturing the Apple iPhone among tons of other electronics we use daily, has been massively criticized for its working conditions, and low wages.



Foxconn has considered moving to Vietnam to lower their already low labor costs, and has also considered replacing workers with automated robots at some factories.

Today though, according to Gizmodo, the company has taken a much simpler route, installing safety nets at some of its facilities, effectively as a way to catch workers that may be considering trying to kill themselves.

Foxconn has not released a PR on the nets, so for now they are just speculation.

Besides the raise, Foxconn has also brought in Buddhist monks to sooth the karma of the factory, and created "anger rooms" to allows employees to box out their anger.

Written by: Andre Yoskowitz @ 29 Jun 2010 12:26

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• 16 comments

• Morreale

  ROFL nets! That's absolutely ridiculous!
  

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  29.6.2010 12:36 #1

• DXR88

  this company is a monster, they don't give a shit about human life. as long as OEMs continue to buy foxconn parts they will continue these practices.
  

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  29.6.2010 12:48 #2

• stuntman_

  lol did you accidentally call the people working there robots?
  
  "and has also considered replacing robots with automated robots at some factories."
  

  
  
  
  

  29.6.2010 13:07 #3

• DVDBack23

  Originally posted by stuntman_: lol did you accidentally call the people working there robots?
  
  "and has also considered replacing robots with automated robots at some factories." Yes I did, haha my mistake. Edited. With those hours and pay, they might as well be robots...
  

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  29.6.2010 13:19 #4

• cleverick

  So I take it if you buy an Iphone 4 or an Ipad, your are contributing to the suicides?

  29.6.2010 15:46 #5

• blueboy09

  LOL! WTF? Oh, so now they care enough to do something about the suicides? Should be that those responsible for putting the employees in that situation in the first place should jump off w/o nets! No amount of money is ever going to fix this. Money can always be replaced, whereas a human life cannot. Get a clue to those responsible and come back down to Earth when you actually make sense. Seesh!!
  

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  29.6.2010 22:46 #6

• KillerBug

  Didn't they try that first? I seem to remember pictures on CNN that showed large nets setup around the housing...at about the same time as the first set of raises.

  29.6.2010 23:06 #7

• kfir1

  Who cares there are a billion of them little snitz. Let them all die. Foxconn should only pay them a dollar a day and make them work 10 - 12 hrs day. I want anything that'schinese sold here in the US for CHEAP. Anything chinese is crap anyways.

  30.6.2010 11:42 #8

• Clownzill

  I wonder how many of those complaining about Foxconn's working conditions actually own products with Foxconn parts in them. Remember, a human only needs food, shelter, and clothing to survive. I don't think Foxconn makes any of those. So people need to stop being hypocrites and talk about worker's rights from one side of their mouth and buy products made with Foxconn parts from the other side. The real irony is these SAME PEOPLE will complain about rising electronics prices when those rising prices will be partially due to paying the workers more. Now, I'm not saying what my stance is on all this but I just wanted to point out the sheer hypocrisy from all these "worker" advocates.
  

  30.6.2010 13:50 #9

• nintenut

  "Besides the raise, Foxconn has also brought in Buddhist monks to sooth the karma of the factory, and created "anger rooms" to allows employees to box out their anger."
  
  That's actually really good to hear. At least they're doing <I>something</I>...

  30.6.2010 20:27 #10

• KillerBug

  Nothing like a Buddhist monk to make people think about their terrible lives...they better remove all the sharp objects from the prison, er a, I mean 'dorm'.

  1.7.2010 03:10 #11

• kfir1

  Originally posted by Clownzill: I wonder how many of those complaining about Foxconn's working conditions actually own products with Foxconn parts in them. Remember, a human only needs food, shelter, and clothing to survive. I don't think Foxconn makes any of those. So people need to stop being hypocrites and talk about worker's rights from one side of their mouth and buy products made with Foxconn parts from the other side. The real irony is these SAME PEOPLE will complain about rising electronics prices when those rising prices will be partially due to paying the workers more. Now, I'm not saying what my stance is on all this but I just wanted to point out the sheer hypocrisy from all these "worker" advocates. CLOWZILL.......
  
  Im just being straight forward to those who read my comments. I really don't give a F%$K about the chinese workers. AS I said they all can jump off the tallest building and there will be others to replace them. I dont care of there rights. china is a communist country and if they want to sell to the US market. It better be cheap as HELL.

  1.7.2010 07:46 #12

• stuntman_

  If my work put it safety nets I would go jump off the top of the building all the time...WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
  

  
  
  
  

  1.7.2010 11:17 #13

• Over_kill

  What you all fail to realize is these employees are earning US$130 a month, however if they die at work the company has to fork out US$14k for someone who has lost their life on the job. In other words some of those suicides the family member has figured out they are worth more dead than alive.

  2.7.2010 00:41 #14

• nalljr

  @kfir1: No offense
  
  Who do you think is on top of those workers, their supervisors, and factory managers? Who forced them to work at very minimal wage and long exhausting hours? Its the lazy corporate higher-ups from your country, that's who?
  
  You are also part of the problem - buying these products and asking for that product to become cheaper.
  
  Put yourself in their situation (from which employment rate and wages are low). I'll bet sooner or later the wheel will turn and you will experience their dilemma

  2.7.2010 01:30 #15

• Wibbler23 (unverified)

  "effectively as a way to catch workers that may be considering trying to kill themselves. "
  
  Actually the net are for the ones who are trying to suicide, not just thinking about it..

  4.7.2010 15:00 #16