10 Staggering Facts Behind Apple’s Foxconn Factory
1. Hourly Wages
Foxconn workers get paid $1.78 an hour.
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ABC’s behind-the-scenes look at Apple’s supply plant in Shenzhen and Chengdu confirmed a lot of what we already knew: Conditions are grueling, employees are overworked and underpaid, and living quarters are crowded. However, some of the stats revealed through Nightline’s 17-minute special surrounding hourly wages, living costs and the process that goes into making Apple devices were staggering.
Nightline anchor Bill Weir was the first reporter to be allowed into the controversial Foxconn factory following years of reports about the harsh working conditions at the facility, which creates Apple products such as the iPad, iPhone and Mac computers. Foxconn is also a supply chain provider for Nintendo, Dell, HP and Intel products.
The special, which aired on Tuesday night, revealed that Foxconn workers get paid $1.78 an hour and live in a dorm room for about $17 a month, along with seven roommates. In addition, it takes five days and 325 sets of hands to assemble an iPad, according to Nightline. Meanwhile, workers can make 300,000 cameras for the device in just two shifts.
Foxconn employees have different roles. Some work with pieces of aluminum to form the iPad’s exterior design, along with the Apple logo, creating 10,000 iPads each hour. Weir said he had heard “horror stories” that workers were 13 years old, but noted most were in their late teens.
For more information about Foxconn’s suicide nets and working conditions, check out the gallery above.
SEE ALSO: Apple’s Foxconn Operations Exposed in ABC Report [VIDEO]
This is not the first time Apple has been under fire for mistreatment allegations at its supply factories. In fact, the factories have been accused of mistreatment for years. Most recently, reports surfaced that some Apple workers threatened to throw themselves off of a roof in a protest of unfair treatment. Foxconn later said the dispute was solved peacefully.
According to a report by 9to5mac.com, Cook sent an email last month to Apple employees following an article published by the New York Times that detailed how factory employees in China face unsuitable conditions.
“Unfortunately, some people are questioning Apple’s values today, and I’d like to address this with you directly,” Cook wrote. “We care about every worker in our worldwide supply chain. Any accident is deeply troubling, and any issue with working conditions is cause for concern. Any suggestion that we don’t care is patently false and offensive to us.”
He also promised Apple employees that the company will “dig deeper” and although it will likely find more issues that need to be addressed, it won’t stand still or ignore the problems in the supply chain.
Are you surprised by any of the stats in Nightline’s special? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
All images courtesy of ABC Nightline.
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