Foxconn
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Foxconn | |
Company type | Public |
TWSE: 2317 SEHK: 2038 LSE: HHPD | |
Industry | Electronics |
Founded | 1974 |
Founder | Terry Guo |
Headquarters | , |
Area served | Global |
Key people | Terry Guo (Chairman and President) |
Products | Electronics, electronic components |
Services | Electronics manufacturing services |
Revenue | ![]() |
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Total assets | ![]() |
Total equity | ![]() |
Number of employees | 1.23 million (2012)[2] |
Website | foxconn.com |
Foxconn | |||||||
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Traditional Chinese | 鴻海精密工業股份有限公司 | ||||||
Simplified Chinese | 鸿海精密工业股份有限公司 | ||||||
Literal meaning | Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd. | ||||||
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Trading name | |||||||
Traditional Chinese | 富士康科技集團 | ||||||
Simplified Chinese | 富士康科技集团 | ||||||
Literal meaning | Foxconn Technology Group | ||||||
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Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd., trading as Foxconn Technology Group, is a Taiwanese multinational electronics contract manufacturing company headquartered in Tucheng, New Taipei, Taiwan. It is the world's largest electronics contract manufacturer and Hon Hai Precision group as a whole manufacture more than 40% of world's electronic products,[3][4] and the fourth-largest information technology company by revenue.[5]
Foxconn is primarily an original design manufacturer and its clients include major American, European, and Japanese electronics and information technology companies. Notable products that the company manufactures include the BlackBerry,[6] iPad,[7] iPhone,[8] iPod,[8] Kindle,[9] Xbox One, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3,[10] Playstation 4, Wii, and Wii U.[11]
Foxconn has been involved in several controversies relating to how it manages employees in China, although reports are to some extent conflicting.[12]
History
Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd. was founded in 1974 by Terry Guo as a manufacturer of electrical components (notably electrical connectors for computer components,[8] which found use in the Atari 2600).[13] Foxconn was originally a trade name of Hon Hai and a subsidiary later received the name.[8] Hon Hai's first manufacturing plant in mainland China opened in Longhua, Shenzhen, in 1988.[8]
In 2001 Intel concentrated on its core competency of chip making and began using Chinese contract manufacturers such as Foxconn to make Intel-branded motherboards.[14]
In November 2007 Foxconn announced plans to build a new US$500 million plant in Huizhou, Southern China.[15]
In March 2012 Foxconn agreed to acquire a 10 percent stake in the Japanese electronics company Sharp Corporation for US$806 million and to purchase up to 50 percent of the LCD displays produced at Sharp's plant in Sakai, Japan.[16]
In January 2012 Foxconn named Tien Chong (Terry) Cheng chief executive, who soon resigned, citing health problems.[17]
In September 2012 Foxconn announced plans to invest US$494 million in the construction of five new factories in Itu, Brazil, creating 10,000 jobs.[18]
Operations
Foxconn has factories in Asia, Europe, Mexico and South America that together assemble around 40 percent of all consumer electronics products sold.[19]
Taiwan
Foxconn's headquarter located in New Taipei City. Its R&D centers located in almost every city and county in Taiwan. Foxconn left most of its high-paid job in his motherland,Taiwan.
China
Foxconn has 13 factories in nine Chinese cities—more than in any other country. It is the largest exporter of 22 provinces in China and China as a whole.[20]
Foxconn's largest factory worldwide is in Longhua, Shenzhen, where hundreds of thousands of workers (varying counts include 230,000,[19] 300,000,[21] and 450,000[22]) are employed at the Longhua Science & Technology Park, a walled campus[8] sometimes referred to as "Foxconn City"[23] or "iPod City".[24] Covering about 1.16 square miles (3 square km),[25] it includes 15 factories,[23] worker dormitories, a swimming pool,[26] a fire brigade,[8] its own television network (Foxconn TV),[8] and a city centre with a grocery store, bank, restaurants, bookstore, and hospital.[8] While some workers live in surrounding towns and villages, others live and work inside the complex;[27] a quarter of the employees live in the dormitories, and many of them work up to 12 hours a day for 6 days each week.[19] Another of Foxconn's factory "cities" is Zhengzhou Technology Park in Zhengzhou, Henan province, where it is reported 120,000 employees work.[28]
Foxconn continues to expand, and planned factories include sites at Chengdu in Sichuan province and Wuhan in Hubei province.[20]
Brazil
All company facilities in South America are located in Brazil,[29] and these include mobile phone factories in Manaus and Indaiatuba as well as production bases in Jundiai, Sorocaba, and Santa Rita do Sapucaí.[30] The company is considering more investments in Brazil.[12]
Europe
Foxconn has factories in Hungary,[31] Slovakia,[12] and the Czech Republic.[4] It is the second-largest exporter in the Czech Republic.[4]
India
Foxconn has operational units in the Special Economic Zone of Chennai, Tamil Nadu.[32]
Japan
Foxconn and Sharp Corporation jointly run two plants manufacturing large-screen televisions in Sakai, Osaka. In August 2012 it was reported that Sharp, while doing corporate restructuring and downsizing, was considering selling the plants to Foxconn, which was believed to be receptive to the plan.[33]
Malaysia
As of 2011, Foxconn had at least seven factories in Johor state,[34] possibly at Kulaijaya, where it is developing an industrial park that will include four factories once completed.[35]
Mexico
Foxconn has a facility in San Jerónimo, Chihuahua that assembles computers,[36] and two facilities in Juárez – a former Motorola production base that manufactures mobile phones,[37] and a set-top box factory acquired from Cisco Systems.[38] LCD televisions are also made in the country by Foxconn in a plant acquired from Sony.[39]
USA
In December 2013, Foxconn announced plans to invest $30 million over two years to build a manufacturing facility in Pennsylvania, as well as putting $10 million into R&D at Carnegie Mellon University. The new facility will be located in Harrisburg and will develop robotic equipment. Other than that, Foxconn is also planning on building high-tech factories in Arizona and Display factories in the United States to supply touch display for automobile manufacturer Tesla[40][41]
Major customers
Major customers of Foxconn include or have included:
- Acer Inc. (Taiwan)[42]
- Amazon.com (United States)[9]
- Apple Inc. (United States)[43]
- BlackBerry Ltd. (Canada)[44]
- Cisco (United States)[45]
- Dell (United States)[46]
- Asus
- Xiaomi
- Sharp
- Infocus
- hTC
- Tesla
- HuaWei
- ZTE
- Google (United States)[47]
- Hewlett-Packard (United States)[48]
- Microsoft (United States)[49]
- Motorola Mobility (United States)[46]
- Nintendo (Japan)[50]
- Nokia (Finland)[43][51]
- Sony (Japan)[10]
- Toshiba (Japan) [52]
- Vizio (United States)[53]
- Micromax Mobile (India)
(country of headquarters in parentheses)
Apple has stated that it contracts with Chinese original equipment manufacturers such as Foxconn because they have easy access to the Chinese supply chain[19] within a well developed industrial cluster.[54]
Controversies
Working conditions
Allegations of poor working conditions have been made on several occasions.[55] News reports highlight the long working hours,[23][25] discrimination against mainland Chinese workers by their Taiwanese co-workers,[56] and lack of working relationships at the company.[57] Although Foxconn was found to be compliant in the majority of areas when Apple Inc. audited the maker of its iPods and iPhones in 2007[8] the audit did substantiate a few of the allegations.[58]
Concerns increased in early 2012 due to a US theatrical monologue purportedly based on factual accounts of working conditions at Foxconn,[59] but much of the source material was later found to be fictional.[60] A 2012 audit performed by the Fair Labor Association at the request of Apple Inc. found that workers routinely received insufficient overtime pay and suggested that workplace accidents may be common.[61][62]
A Hong Kong non-profit organisation, Students and Scholars Against Corporate Misbehavior, has written numerous negative reports on Foxconn's treatment of its employees.[63] These typically find far worse conditions than the 2012 Fair Labor Association audit did[citation needed] but rely on a far smaller number of employee informants–100 to 170.[64] The Fair Labor Association audit in 2012 used interviews with 35,000 Foxconn employees.[61]
In September 2012 a fight at worker dormitories in Taiyuan, Shanxi, escalated into a riot involving 2000 people and was quelled by security.[65][66]
In October 2012, the company admitted that 14-year-old children had worked for a short time at a facility in Yantai, Shandong Province.[67] Foxconn said that the workers involved were part of an internship program.[67] Individuals as young as 16 can legally work in China.[67]
In 2012, a young worker, Zhang Tingzhen, was threatened to have Hon-Hal medical support canceled, when doctors remonstrated against moving his injured body for treatment in Huizhou from the hospital in Shenzhen.[68] He suffered an electrical shock and was injured to the extent that doctors needed to amputate half of his brain. This left him in no condition to travel to Huizhou, the city he was initially hired at. The company stated that it was acting within labor laws.[69][70][71][72]
Suicides
Suicides among Foxconn workers have attracted media attention. One was the high-profile death of a worker after the loss of a prototype and the other, a series of suicides linked to low pay in 2010. Suicides of Foxconn workers continued into 2012, with one in June 2012. The rate has substantially fallen since 2010.[citation needed]
Sun Danyong, a 25-year-old man, committed suicide in July 2009 after reporting the loss of an iPhone 4[73] prototype in his possession.[74]
In reaction to a spate of worker suicides in which 14 people died in 2010,[75] a report from 20 Chinese universities described Foxconn factories as labor camps and detailed widespread worker abuse and illegal overtime.[76] In response to the suicides, Foxconn installed suicide-prevention netting at some facilities,[55] and it promised to offer substantially higher wages at its Shenzhen production bases.[77] Workers were also forced to sign a legally binding document guaranteeing they and their descendants would not sue the company as a result of unexpected death, self-injury or suicide.[78]
Against this, the suicide rate at Foxconn, even during the suicide spate, was lower than that of China[79][80] as well as that of all 50 states of the United States.[81][82]
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e "Hon Hai Precision Industry Financial Statements". Hon Hai Precision Industry.
- ^ Alexander, Ruth (19 March 2012). "Which is the world's biggest employer?". BBC. Retrieved 2012-03-20.
- ^ "Strikes End at Two Chinese Automotive Suppliers". Reuters. 2010-07-22.
- "Table 3. The Circuits Assembly Top 50 EMS Companies, 2009". circuitsassembly.com.
- Buetow, Mike (March 2010). "The Trials of 2009". circuitsassembly.com.
- ^ a b c "About Foxconn: Group Profile". Foxconn Technology Group.
- ^ "Top 50 Global Technology Companies". Datamonitor.
- ^ http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2013/12/20/blackberry-earnings/4140253/
- ^ "Apple Adding More iPad Production Lines To Meet Holiday and 2011 Demand". San Francisco Chronicle. 2010-11-23.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "The Forbidden City of Terry Gou". The Wall Street Journal. 2007-08-11.
- ^ a b "Kindle Screen Maker Will Increase Capacity To Meet Demand". Computer World. 2010-07-28.
- ^ a b "Sony Sources Foxconn to Help Manufacture PS3". DailyTech. Retrieved 2012-02-01.
- ^ "iPhone, Wii U Manufacturer Admits to Employing Children". IGN. October 17, 2012. Retrieved October 17, 2012.
- ^ a b c "Foxconn Says Looking at Investment Opportunities in Brazil". Reuters. 2011-04-13.
- ^ Balfour, Frederik; Culpan, Tim (2010-09-09)."Everything Is Made by Foxconn in Future Evoked by Gou's Empire". Bloomberg News.
- ^ Mueller, Scott (2012). Upgrading and Repairing PCs. (20th ed.) Indianapolis: Que. p. 24. ISBN 978-0-7897-4710-5
- ^ "Foxconn International plans new $500 million South China plant". Reuters. 22 November 2007. Retrieved 17 February 2012.
- ^ "Foxconn owner Hon Hai buying 10 percent stake in Japanese electronics giant Sharp for $806M". The Washington Post. 27 March 2012. Retrieved 27 March 2012.
- ^ For January 2012 promotion, see "Executive Profile: Tien Chong Cheng". foxconn international hldgs (2038:Hong Kong). Bloomberg Businessweek. Retrieved November 20, 2012.
- For July 2012 resignation due to health, see Buetow, Mike (5 July 2012). "Foxconn CEO to Resign". Circuits Assembly. UP Media Group. Retrieved November 20, 2012.
- ^ "Foxconn invests more in Brazil". Taipei Times. 20 September 2012. Retrieved 1 December 2012.
- ^ a b c d Duhigg, Charles; Keith Bradsher (January 21, 2012). "How the U.S. Lost Out on iPhone Work". New York Times. Retrieved January 24, 2012.
- ^ a b Lau, Mimi (December 15, 2010). "Struggle for Foxconn Girl Who Wanted To Die". South China Morning Post. Retrieved April 27, 2012.
- ^ "Firm Shaken by Suicides". Los Angeles Times. 2010-05-26.
- ^ "Foxcon Plans To Increase China Workforce to 1.3 Million". Focus Taiwan News Channel. 2010-08-19. Retrieved 2010-08-19.
- ^ a b c "Suicides at Foxconn: Light and Death". The Economist. 2010-05-27.
- ^ "iPod City: Apple Criticized for Factory Conditions". arstechnica.com. 2006-06-12.
- "Inside Apple's iPod Factories". MacWorld UK. 2006-06-12.
- ^ a b "Foxconn Workers in China Say 'Meaningless' Life Sparks Suicides". BusinessWeek. 2010-06-02. [dead link]
- ^ "Apple, Dell, and HP comment on suicides as Foxconn CEO shows off the pool". Engadget. Retrieved 2012-02-10.
- ^ "A Night at the Electronics Factory". The New York Times. 2010-06-19.
- ^ "Apple hit by China Foxconn factory report". BBC. 2012-03-30.
- ^ "Global Distribution". Foxconn Technology Group.
- ^ Fávaro, Tatiana (2011-04-24). "Filial no Brasil acusada de pressão no trabalho" (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2011-06-06.
{{cite web}}
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suggested) (help)CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link) - ^ "Foxconn to lay off 1,500 in Hungary as orders drop". reuters.com. 2012-03-30.
- ^ "Trade Union Leaders and Workers at Foxconn India Imprisoned". 2010-10-22. Retrieved 2010-11-04.
- ^ The Daily Yomiuri Sharp to transfer 3,000 overseas workers to Hon Hai August 22, 2012 Retrieved on August 22, 2012
- ^ "柔古来富士康集团 低调办非正式剪彩" (in Chinese). MCIL Multimedia Sdn Bhd. 2011-09-27. Retrieved 2012-02-16.
{{cite news}}
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suggested) (help) - ^ Oleh Mahanum, Abdul Aziz (2011-09-03). "Hon Hai cadang bina 4 kilang di Malaysia" (in Malay). The New Straits Times Press (Malaysia). Retrieved 2012-02-16.
{{cite news}}
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suggested) (help) - ^ Robinson-Avila, Kevin (December 9, 2011). "Foxconn spinoff effect has Santa Teresa flourishing". Business Weekly. Retrieved 2012-05-29.
- ^ "Foxconn: Arson at Mexico Plant Work of Angry Ex-Employee". PC World. 2010-02-22.
- ^ "Citigroup Likes Hon Hai's Purchase of Set-Top Box Plant". Taipei Times. 2011-07-20.
- ^ "Foxconn Denies Plans To Acquire Sony LCD TV Factory in Spain". Ninelu Tu; Adam Hwang. DigiTimes. 2010-07-09.
- ^ http://news.cnet.com/8301-1001_3-57613453-92/foxconn-set-for-us-with-$40m-investment-in-pennsylvania/
- ^ http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-11-21/iphone-maker-foxconn-said-to-plan-investment-in-pennsylvania.html
- ^ "Foxconn Making Acer Android Phones". Phandroid.com. 2009-12-22. Retrieved 2012-02-01.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Whitney, Lance (20 December 2013). "BlackBerry enlists FoxConn as Q3 loss hits $4.4B". CNet. Retrieved 20 December 2013.
- ^ "Cisco signs over Mexico manufacturing facility to Foxconn". ZDNet. 2011-07-18. Retrieved 2012-02-01.
- ^ a b Foxconn by the Numbers . Huffington Post. 2012-01-27.
- ^ "Chinese Contractors: Foxconn's Underage Worker Use Affects Sony, Google, Apple, Amazon, Nokia". INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS TIMES. Retrieved 2012-10-17.
- ^ Buetow, Mike (April 2005). "Foxconn, HP Extend Contract Relationship". Circuits Assembly. Vol. 16, Iss. 4; p. 10, 1 pgs.
- ^ E.D. Kain. "Chinese Foxconn Workers Threaten Mass Suicide Over Xbox Pay Dispute". Forbes. Retrieved 2012-02-01.
- ^ "Nintendo to probe Foxconn conditions: report". MarketWatch. Retrieved 2012-02-01.
- ^ "In China, Human Costs Are Built Into an iPad". New York Times. Retrieved 2012-01-26.
- ^ "The Dilemma of Cheap Electronics". The New York Times. Retrieved 2012-02-10.
- ^ Budi Putra (2006-10-05). "Foxconn to make smartphones for Vizio". SlashPhone. Retrieved 2012-02-01.
- ^ Krugman, Paul (January 24, 2012). "Chinese Manufacturing and the Auto Bailout". New York Times. Retrieved January 27, 2012.
- ^ a b Mail Foreign Service (2006-08-18). "The Stark Reality of iPod's Chinese Factories". Daily Mail. London. Retrieved 2011-05-27.
- ^ "Foxconn called to account for another employee suicide". WantChinaTimes.com. 26 November 2011. Retrieved 8 December 2012.
- ^ Moore, Malcolm (2010-05-16). "What Has Triggered the Suicide Cluster at Foxconn?". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 2010-07-09.
- ^ "Inside Apple's iPod Factories". Macorld UK. 2006-06-12.
- ^ "Moral Issues Behind iPhone and Its Makers". The New York Times 2012-03-28.
- ^ "Retraction". This American Life. 2012-03-28.
- ^ a b Williams, Matt (29 March 2012). "Foxconn audit finds illegal overtime and unpaid wages at Apple factory". guardian.co.uk. Guardian News and Media Ltd. Retrieved 2012-05-29.
- ^ Bonnington, Christina, "Apple’s Foxconn Auditing Group ‘Surrounded With Controversy,’ Critics Say", Wired magazine, February 13, 2012
- ^ For 2010 reports, see "Publications: 2010". Students and Scholars Against Corporate Misbehavior. Retrieved June 24, 2012.
- For 2011 reports, see "Publications: 2011". Students and Scholars Against Corporate Misbehavior. Retrieved June 24, 2012.
- For 2012 reports, see "Publications: 2012". Students and Scholars Against Corporate Misbehavior. Retrieved June 24, 2012.
- ^ For report relying on 100 worker informants, see "WORKERS AS MACHINES: MILITARY MANAGEMENT IN FOXCONN" (PDF). Students and Scholars Against Corporate Misbehavior. 13 Oct 2010. Retrieved June 24, 2012.
- For report relying on 170 worker informants, see "FOXCONN AND APPLE FAIL TO FULFILL PROMISES: PREDICAMENTS OF WORKERS AFTER THE SUICIDES" (PDF). Students and Scholars Against Corporate Misbehavior. 6 May 2011. Retrieved June 24, 2012.
- ^ "Foxconn Workers Labor Under Guard After Riot Shuts Plant". bloomberg.com. Bloomberg. Sep 26, 2012. Retrieved November 21, 2012.
- ^ 2,000 Foxconn staff riot at iPhone 5 'sweatshop' in China after 'guard beats up worker' | Mail Online. Dailymail.co.uk (2012-09-24). Retrieved on 2013-07-26.
- ^ a b c Ben Blanchard, Mark Bendeich, Ron Popeski (Oct 17, 2012). "Foxconn says underage workers used in China plant". reuters.com. Thompson Reuters. Retrieved 2013-06-03.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ http://ub117.mail.live.com/default.aspx?id=64855
- ^ Ron Dicker (2012-10-15). "Zhang Tingzhen, Foxconn Employee Who Lost Half His Brain, Ordered To Leave Hospital (UPDATE)". The Huffington Post.
- ^ Tan Ee Lyn (Oct 10, 2012). "Worker's injury casts harsh new light on Foxconn and China". Reuters.
- ^ "ZHANG TINGZHEN, LE MARTYR DE FOXCONN". Paris Match.
- ^ Tan Ee Lyn (2012-10-30). "Family Of Zhang Tingzhen, Brain-Damaged Foxconn Worker, Takes Company To Court". Reuters.
- ^ "Apple Confirms Death of iPhone Worker in China". CNET. 2009-07-21.
- ^ "IPhone Maker in China Is Under Fire After a Suicide". The New York Times. 2009-07-26.
- Chang, Chris, "The Real Truth Behind Foxconn’s Suicide Cluster", M.I.C., May 19, 2010 (abstracted from a newspaper article in the Southern Weekly)
- ^ Pomfret, James (2010-11-05). "Foxconn Worker Plunges to Death at China Plant: Report". Reuters.
- ^
- "Foxconn Factories Are Labour Camps: Report". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 2010-10-10.
- Tan, Kenneth (2010-05-20). "Foxconn Security Guards Caught Beating Factory Workers". Shanghai: Shanghaiist. Retrieved 2010-10-10.
- ^ "Foxconn To Raise Wages Again at China Plant". Reuters. 2010-10-01.
- ^ 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.
- ^ A Trip to The iFactory: 'Nightline' Gets an Unprecedented Glimpse Inside Apple's Chinese Core, ABC News, page 3
- ^ "Suicides at Foxconn: Light and Death". The Economist. 27 May 2010. Retrieved 2012-01-07.
{{cite news}}
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(help) - ^ "Foxconn suicide rate is lower than in the US, says Apple's Steve Jobs". The Daily Telegraph. 2 June 2010. Retrieved 9 September 2012.
- ^ "Don't Mean To Be Rude, But Suicide Rate at Apple's iPad-Maker Foxconn Is Lower Than All 50 U.S. States". Business Insider. 26 May 2010. Retrieved 9 September 2012.
Further reading
- Barboza, David, "Foxconn Plans to Lift Pay Sharply at Factories in China", The New York Times, February 18, 2012
- Duhigg, Charles; Barboza, David, "Human Costs Are Built Into an iPad", The New York Times, January 25, 2012
- Kristof, Nicholas D.; WuDunn, Sheryl, "Two Cheers for Sweatshops", The New York Times, September 24, 2000
- Weir, Bill, "iFactory: Inside Apple", ABC Nightline, TV program, February 21, 2012
External links
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'Defying police attacks, Foxconn workers in India continue strike'
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