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Foxconn's largest factory worldwide is in [[Longhua Town, Shenzhen|Longhua]], [[Shenzhen]], where hundreds of thousands of workers (varying counts include 230,000<ref name="Duhigg"/>, 300,000<ref>[http://articles.latimes.com/2010/may/26/world/la-fg-china-suicides-20100526 "Firm Shaken by Suicides"]. ''[[Los Angeles Times]]''. 2010-05-26.</ref>, and 450,000<ref name="focustw">{{cite news|url=http://focustaiwan.tw/ShowNews/WebNews_Detail.aspx?ID=201008190012&Type=aECO|title=Foxcon Plans To Increase China Workforce to 1.3 Million|publisher=Focus Taiwan News Channel|date= 2010-8-19 |accessdate= 2010-8-19}}</ref>) are employed at the Longhua Science & Technology Park, a walled campus<ref name=wsj/> sometimes referred to as "Foxconn City"<ref name="Economist-Foxconn"/> or "[[iPod]] City".<ref>*[http://arstechnica.com/old/content/2006/06/7039.ars "iPod City: Apple Criticized for Factory Conditions"]. arstechnica.com. 2006-06-12.
Foxconn's largest factory worldwide is in [[Longhua Town, Shenzhen|Longhua]], [[Shenzhen]], where hundreds of thousands of workers (varying counts include 230,000<ref name="Duhigg"/>, 300,000<ref>[http://articles.latimes.com/2010/may/26/world/la-fg-china-suicides-20100526 "Firm Shaken by Suicides"]. ''[[Los Angeles Times]]''. 2010-05-26.</ref>, and 450,000<ref name="focustw">{{cite news|url=http://focustaiwan.tw/ShowNews/WebNews_Detail.aspx?ID=201008190012&Type=aECO|title=Foxcon Plans To Increase China Workforce to 1.3 Million|publisher=Focus Taiwan News Channel|date= 2010-8-19 |accessdate= 2010-8-19}}</ref>) are employed at the Longhua Science & Technology Park, a walled campus<ref name=wsj/> sometimes referred to as "Foxconn City"<ref name="Economist-Foxconn"/> or "[[iPod]] City".<ref>*[http://arstechnica.com/old/content/2006/06/7039.ars "iPod City: Apple Criticized for Factory Conditions"]. arstechnica.com. 2006-06-12.
*[http://www.macworld.co.uk/news/index.cfm?RSS&NewsID=14915 "Inside Apple's iPod Factories"]. ''[[MacWorld UK]]''. 2006-06-12.</ref> Covering about 1.16 square miles (3 square km),<ref name=bloom>[http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-06-02/foxconn-workers-in-china-say-meaningless-life-sparks-suicides.html "Foxconn Workers in China Say 'Meaningless' Life Sparks Suicides"]. ''[[BusinessWeek]]''. 2010-06-02.</ref> it includes 15 factories,<ref name="Economist-Foxconn">[http://www.economist.com/business-finance/displaystory.cfm?story_id=16231588 "Suicides at Foxconn: Light and Death"]. ''[[The Economist]]''. 2010-05-27.</ref> worker dormitories, a swimming pool,<ref>[http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/26/apple-and-dell-comment-as-foxconn-ceo-shows-off-the-pool/]. [[Engadget]].</ref> a fire brigade,<ref name=wsj/> its own television network (Foxconn TV)<ref name=wsj/>, and a [[downtown]] complete with a grocery store, bank, restaurants, bookstore, and hospital.<ref name=wsj/> While some workers live in surrounding towns and villages, others live and work inside the complex,<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/20/weekinreview/20barboza.html "A Night at the Electronics Factory"]. ''[[The New York Times]]''. 2010-06-19.</ref>; a quarter of the employees live in the dormitories, and many of them work 12-hour days for 6 days each week for wages of around US$17 per day.<ref name="Duhigg"/>
*[http://www.macworld.co.uk/news/index.cfm?RSS&NewsID=14915 "Inside Apple's iPod Factories"]. ''[[MacWorld UK]]''. 2006-06-12.</ref> Covering about 1.16 square miles (3 square km),<ref name=bloom>[http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-06-02/foxconn-workers-in-china-say-meaningless-life-sparks-suicides.html "Foxconn Workers in China Say 'Meaningless' Life Sparks Suicides"]. ''[[BusinessWeek]]''. 2010-06-02.</ref> it includes 15 factories,<ref name="Economist-Foxconn">[http://www.economist.com/business-finance/displaystory.cfm?story_id=16231588 "Suicides at Foxconn: Light and Death"]. ''[[The Economist]]''. 2010-05-27.</ref> worker dormitories, a swimming pool,<ref>[http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/26/apple-and-dell-comment-as-foxconn-ceo-shows-off-the-pool/]. [[Engadget]].</ref> a fire brigade,<ref name=wsj/> its own television network (Foxconn TV)<ref name=wsj/>, and a [[downtown]] complete with a grocery store, bank, restaurants, bookstore, and hospital.<ref name=wsj/> While some workers live in surrounding towns and villages, others live and work inside the complex<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/20/weekinreview/20barboza.html "A Night at the Electronics Factory"]. ''[[The New York Times]]''. 2010-06-19.</ref>; a quarter of the employees live in the dormitories, and many of them work 12-hour days for 6 days each week for wages of around US$17 per day.<ref name="Duhigg"/>


Foxconn continues to expand and planned factory sites include at [[Chengdu]] in [[Sichuan|Sichuan province]], [[Wuhan]] in [[Hubei|Hubei province]], and [[Zhengzhou]] in [[Henan|Henan province]].<ref name=probase>"Struggle for Foxconn Girl Who Wanted To Die". Mimi Lau in Wuhan, Hubei. ''[[South China Morning Post]]''. 2010-12-15.</ref>
Foxconn continues to expand and planned factory sites include at [[Chengdu]] in [[Sichuan|Sichuan province]], [[Wuhan]] in [[Hubei|Hubei province]], and [[Zhengzhou]] in [[Henan|Henan province]].<ref name=probase>"Struggle for Foxconn Girl Who Wanted To Die". Mimi Lau in Wuhan, Hubei. ''[[South China Morning Post]]''. 2010-12-15.</ref>


[[Apple Inc.|Apple]]'s contracts with Chinese industry such as Foxconn because it has easy access to the Chinese supply chain<ref name="Duhigg"/> within a well developed industrial cluster.<ref name="Krugman">{{cite news |title=Chinese Manufacturing and the Auto Bailout |first=Paul |last=Krugman |url=http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/01/24/chinese-manufacturing-and-the-auto-bailout/ |newspaper=New York Times |date=January 24, 2012 |accessdate=January 27, 2012}}</ref> In addition, employees at Chinese companies are thought to be more flexible, diligent, and skilled than American workers.<ref name="Duhigg"/>
[[Apple Inc.|Apple]] contracts with Chinese industry such as Foxconn because it has easy access to the Chinese supply chain<ref name="Duhigg"/> within a well developed industrial cluster.<ref name="Krugman">{{cite news |title=Chinese Manufacturing and the Auto Bailout |first=Paul |last=Krugman |url=http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/01/24/chinese-manufacturing-and-the-auto-bailout/ |newspaper=New York Times |date=January 24, 2012 |accessdate=January 27, 2012}}</ref> In addition, employees at Chinese companies are thought to be more flexible, diligent, and skilled than American workers.<ref name="Duhigg"/>


===Europe===
===Europe===

Revision as of 22:33, 30 January 2012

Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.
(trading as Foxconn)
Company typePublic
TWSE: 2317
SEHK: 2038
LSE: HHPD
Nasdaq: HNHPF
IndustryElectronics manufacturing services
Founded1974
Headquarters
Tucheng District, New Taipei
,
Taiwan
Area served
Global
Key people
Terry Gou (Chairman and President)
ProductsVarious
RevenueUS$59.32 billion (2010)[1]
Decrease 4.1% from 2008
US$2.2 billion (2010)[1]
Increase 31.1% from 2008
Number of employees
920,000+ (2010)[2]
Websitefoxconn.com

Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd. (Chinese: 鴻海精密工業股份有限公司) (trading as Foxconn) (traditional Chinese: 富士康科技集團; simplified Chinese: 富士康科技集团) is a multinational electronics manufacturing company headquartered in Tucheng, New Taipei, Taiwan. It is the world's-largest maker of electronic components[3] including printed circuit boards.[4]

Foxconn clients include American, European and Japanese companies. Notable products which the company manufactures include the Amazon Kindle, iPad,[5] iPhone,[6] PlayStation 3, Wii and Xbox 360. Foxconn is the largest exporter in Greater China and the second-largest in the Czech Republic.[7]

Foxconn has been involved in several controversies– most relating to how it manages employees in China, where it is the largest private employer.[8]

History

Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd. was founded in 1974 as a manufacturer of electrical components (notably electrical connectors for computer components,[6] which found use in the Atari 2600).[9] Foxconn originated as a trade name of Hon Hai, later becoming a Hon Hai subsidiary.[6]

Hon Hai's first manufacturing plant in mainland China opened in Longhua, Shenzhen, in 1988.[6]

In 2011, Foxconn and Amazon formed a joint-design and manufacturing company, with the declared intention of producing an Amazon-branded smartphone sometime in 2012.[10]

Operations

Foxconn currently has factories in Asia, Europe and South America, which together assemble around 40 percent of consumer electronics products in the world.[11]

China

Foxconn has 13 factories in nine Chinese cities, more than in any other country.[12]

Foxconn's largest factory worldwide is in Longhua, Shenzhen, where hundreds of thousands of workers (varying counts include 230,000[11], 300,000[13], and 450,000[2]) are employed at the Longhua Science & Technology Park, a walled campus[6] sometimes referred to as "Foxconn City"[14] or "iPod City".[15] Covering about 1.16 square miles (3 square km),[16] it includes 15 factories,[14] worker dormitories, a swimming pool,[17] a fire brigade,[6] its own television network (Foxconn TV)[6], and a downtown complete with a grocery store, bank, restaurants, bookstore, and hospital.[6] While some workers live in surrounding towns and villages, others live and work inside the complex[18]; a quarter of the employees live in the dormitories, and many of them work 12-hour days for 6 days each week for wages of around US$17 per day.[11]

Foxconn continues to expand and planned factory sites include at Chengdu in Sichuan province, Wuhan in Hubei province, and Zhengzhou in Henan province.[12]

Apple contracts with Chinese industry such as Foxconn because it has easy access to the Chinese supply chain[11] within a well developed industrial cluster.[19] In addition, employees at Chinese companies are thought to be more flexible, diligent, and skilled than American workers.[11]

Europe

A Foxconn factory in the Czech Republic

Foxconn currently has factories in Slovakia[8] and the Czech Republic.[7]

India

Foxconn has an operation in the Special Economic Zone of Chennai, Tamil Nadu.[20]

Mexico

Foxconn has a facility in San Jerónimo, Chihuahua which assembles computers,[21] and two facilities in Juárez – a former Motorola production base which manufactures mobile phones,[22] and a set-top box factory acquired from Cisco Systems.[23] LCD televisions are also made in the country by Foxconn.[24]

Brazil

All existing and currently planned company facilities in South America are located in Brazil,[25] including mobile-phone factories in Manaus and Indaiatuba as well as production bases in Jundiai, Sorocaba, and Santa Rita do Sapucaí.[26] The company is considering more investments in Brazil.[8]

Major customers

Foxconn manufactures products for companies including:

(country of headquarters in parentheses)

Controversies

Allegations of employee mistreatment

Allegations of employee mistreatment have been made on a number of occasions. News reports highlight the long working hours,[14][16] discrimination against mainland Chinese workers by their Taiwanese co-workers,[40] and lack of working relationships at the company.[41]

In 2006, the Daily Mail accused it of abusive employment practices.[42] Although Foxconn was found to be compliant in the majority of areas when Apple audited the maker of its iPods and iPhones,[6] the audit did substantiate a few of the allegations.[43]

Suicides

Main article: Foxconn suicides

Sun Danyong, a 25-year-old male, committed suicide in July 2009 after reporting the loss of an iPhone 4[44] prototype in his possession.[45]

In reaction to a spate of worker suicides where fourteen died in 2010,[38] a report by twenty Chinese universities described Foxconn factories as labour camps and detailed widespread worker abuse and illegal overtime.[46] In response to the suicides, Foxconn installed suicide-prevention netting at some facilities,[42] and it promised to offer substantially higher wages at its Shenzhen production bases.[47] Workers were also forced to sign a legally binding document guaranteeing that they would not sue the company as a result of self-injury or suicide.[48]

Protests

In January 2012, 150 workers in Wuhan threatened to commit mass suicide because of worsening work conditions.[49] The employees had asked for a raise but were told they could either quit with compensation or keep their jobs with no raise. The employees quit, but did not receive their compensation.[50]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Fortune Global 500 2010: The World's Biggest Companies– Hon Hai Precision Industry" Fortune. 2010.
  2. ^ a b "Foxcon Plans To Increase China Workforce to 1.3 Million". Focus Taiwan News Channel. 2010-8-19. Retrieved 2010-8-19. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
  3. ^
  4. ^ Buetow, Mike (March 2010). "The Trials of 2009". circuitsassembly.com.
  5. ^ "Apple Adding More iPad Production Lines To Meet Holiday and 2011 Demand". San Francisco Chronicle. 2010-11-23.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i "The Forbidden City of Terry Gou". The Wall Street Journal. 2007-08-11.
  7. ^ a b "About Foxconn: Group Profile". Foxconn Technology Group.
  8. ^ a b c "Foxconn Says Looking at Investment Opportunities in Brazil". Reuters. 2011-04-13.
  9. ^ Balfour, Frederik; Culpan, Tim (2010-09-09)."Everything Is Made by Foxconn in Future Evoked by Gou's Empire". Bloomberg News.
  10. ^ Clarke, Peter (2011-11-21)."Report: Amazon Asks Foxconn for Smartphone Help". EE Times. Retrieved 2011-11-21.
  11. ^ a b c d e Duhigg, Charles; Keith Bradsher (January 21, 2012). "How the U.S. Lost Out on iPhone Work". New York Times. Retrieved January 24, 2012.
  12. ^ a b "Struggle for Foxconn Girl Who Wanted To Die". Mimi Lau in Wuhan, Hubei. South China Morning Post. 2010-12-15.
  13. ^ "Firm Shaken by Suicides". Los Angeles Times. 2010-05-26.
  14. ^ a b c "Suicides at Foxconn: Light and Death". The Economist. 2010-05-27.
  15. ^ *"iPod City: Apple Criticized for Factory Conditions". arstechnica.com. 2006-06-12.
  16. ^ a b "Foxconn Workers in China Say 'Meaningless' Life Sparks Suicides". BusinessWeek. 2010-06-02.
  17. ^ [1]. Engadget.
  18. ^ "A Night at the Electronics Factory". The New York Times. 2010-06-19.
  19. ^ Krugman, Paul (January 24, 2012). "Chinese Manufacturing and the Auto Bailout". New York Times. Retrieved January 27, 2012.
  20. ^ ""Trade Union Leaders and Workers at Foxconn India Imprisoned". 2010-10-22. Retrieved 2010-11-04.
  21. ^ Business Weekly http://www.bizjournals.com/albuquerque/print-edition/2011/12/09/foxconn-spinoff-effect-has-santa.html?page=all. {{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  22. ^ "Foxconn: Arson at Mexico Plant Work of Angry Ex-Employee". PC World. 2010-02-22.
  23. ^ "Citigroup Likes Hon Hai's Purchase of Set-Top Box Plant". Taipei Times. 2011-07-20.
  24. ^ "Foxconn Denies Plans To Acquire Sony LCD TV Factory in Spain". Ninelu Tu; Adam Hwang. DigiTimes. 2010-07-09.
  25. ^ "Global Distribution". Foxconn Technology Group.
  26. ^ [clarification needed] Fávaro, Tatiana (2011-04-24). "Filial no Brasil acusada de pressão no trabalho" (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2011-06-06. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |trans_title= (help)CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
  27. ^ http://phandroid.com/2009/12/22/foxconn-making-acer-android-phones/
  28. ^ "Kindle Screen Maker Will Increase Capacity To Meet Demand". Computer World. 2010-07-28.
  29. ^ a b "Foxconn Option for Henan's Migrating Millions: A New Factory in Zhengzhou. He Huifeng. South China Morning Post. 2010-09-15. p. 8.
  30. ^ http://www.zdnet.com/blog/btl/cisco-signs-over-mexico-manufacturing-facility-to-foxconn/52610
  31. ^ a b Foxconn by the Numbers . Huffington Post. 2012-01-27.
  32. ^ Buetow, Mike (April 2005). "Foxconn, HP Extend Contract Relationship". Circuits Assembly. Vol. 16, Iss. 4; p. 10, 1 pgs.
  33. ^ http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/opinion/1405863/intel-foxconn-alliance-cripple-asus
  34. ^ http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2012/01/12/chinese-foxconn-workers-threaten-mass-suicide-over-xbox-pay-dispute/
  35. ^ http://www.marketwatch.com/story/nintendo-to-probe-foxconn-conditions-report-2010-05-28
  36. ^ "In China, Human Costs Are Built Into an iPad". New York Times. 2012-01-25.
  37. ^ http://www.dailytech.com/Sony+Sources+Foxconn+to+Help+Manufacture+PS3/article8894.htm
  38. ^ a b Pomfret, James (2010-11-05). "Foxconn Worker Plunges to Death at China Plant: Report". Reuters.
  39. ^ http://www.slashphone.com/foxconn-to-make-smartphones-for-vizio-0414711
  40. ^ 富士康管治双重标准 员工有冤上诉无门.
  41. ^ Moore, Malcolm (2010-05-16). "What Has Triggered the Suicide Cluster at Foxconn?". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 2010-07-09.
  42. ^ a b Mail Foreign Service (2006-08-18). "The Stark Reality of iPod's Chinese Cactories". Daily Mail. London. Retrieved 2011-05-27.
  43. ^ "Inside Apple's iPod Factories". MacWorld UK. 2006-06-12.
  44. ^ "Apple Confirms Death of iPhone Worker in China". CNET. 2009-07-21.
  45. ^ "IPhone Maker in China Is Under Fire After a Suicide". The New York Times. 2009-07-26.
  46. ^
  47. ^ "Foxconn To Raise Wages Again at China Plant". Reuters. 2010-10-01.
  48. ^ Malone, Andrew; Jones, Richard (2010-12-06). "Revealed: Inside the Chinese Suicide Sweatshop Where Workers Toil in 34-Hour Shifts To Make Your iPod". Daily Mail. London. Retrieved 2011-10-07.
  49. ^ "'Mass Suicide' Protest at Apple Manufacturer Foxconn Factory". The Daily Telegraph.
  50. ^ "Indignant Workers Threaten Suicide at Foxconn Park in Wuhan". Want China Times. 2012-01-10.

Further reading

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Foxconn.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Foxconn&oldid=474112684"