Foxconn Factory

What is Foxconn? Although the world today is filled with manufacturers that make
everything from clothing to electronics, the name Foxconn has come to light in recent years in a
very controversial way. Otherwise known as Hon Hai Precision Industry, Foxconn makes just
over forty percent of the worlds electronicsi. It is a Taiwanese company but is Chinas largest
private employer with over 1.2 million workers among its factories in Shenzhen, Chengdu, and
various other Chinese citiesii. In this paper, I will be doing a case study focusing primarily on
Foxconn factory located in Shenzhen, China. Of the factories 1.3 million workers in China,
500,000 of them are employed at this one locationiii.
In order to fully understand this large manufacturer, I would like to look at three primary
aspects in this paper. I will start with the basis of the factory - what it produces and for whom,
how much it produces, etc. I will also discuss in this section who the biggest contributors to the
factory are within the United States. Then, I would like to focus on wages, hours, and general
conditions of work. Finally, in the third and longest section, I will consider the more recent controversies about the factory, such as the suicides, riots, audits, and what is being done, if anything, about the conditions.
Section 1: Foxconn production for TNCs
Foxconn is the main manufacturer for Apple, Inc. producing on its lines things such as
the Mac, iPad, and turning out most of Apples iPhonesiv. The factory also produces electronics
for other companies such as Microsoft, Amazon and Hewlett-Packardv. To put into perspective
the mass production rates happening under Foxconn, in Zhengzhou, the daily iPhone 5S output
from just 300,000 people was over 500,000 iPhones a dayvi. These types of numbers are seen in

every Foxconn factory across China, including Shenzhen. In order to meet the production target
for the iPhone 5S, the factory in Shenzhen recruited 20,000 more workers and had to produce 57
million iPhones in just one yearvii. This factory also produces individual parts for Dell computers, nintendo, and many other major electronics corporationsviii.
Obviously, Apple has been a large contributor to manufacturing based in Shenzhen. Although the corporation is based in the United States, none of its actual production is done there,
which is why Foxconn has become more recently known as the Apple factory. Why does Apple
outsource most of its manufacturing to factories in China? Most of the reason, of course, has to
do with the idea behind export-processing zones. Export-processing zones are economic zones
with cheap labor, low regulation, and are often tax-free or close to itix. It is much cheaper for
Apple to have its iPhones, Macs, and iPads produced in these zones rather than in the United
States. This is the same reason that every other electronics manufacturer chooses to outsource
their production to Foxconn factories in China.
Section 2: Wages, Hours, and Work Conditions of Foxconn Factories
As expected, the hourly wages that workers in Shenzhen, along with other Foxconn factories get paid are not very impressive. The factory line worker gets paid about 1.78 US dollars
an hourx. These are not easy hours to work, regardless of pay. In one shift, one worker can carve
up to 3,000 Apple logos for various Apple devices being producedxi. The workers monthly
salaries start at about 130 US dollars, but many workers work excessive amounts of overtime to
increase their payxii.
More than half of the employees at this factory are found to work eleven days consecutively without restxiii. It was found that almost half of the workers clocked up to seventy hours a

weekxiv. Chinese labor laws say that employee's should work no more than forty-nine hours per
week, including overtime. The reason that these workers were willing to work so much overtime
is because at least two-thirds of them felt that their pay didnt meet their basic needsxv. Although
many of them stay on-site in dormitories, these are not given amenities. It costs the employees
seventeen dollars a month to share a small dormitory with seven other workersxvi. Meals cost
seventy cents and consist of a little meat and ricexvii.
Work conditions include ten hour (or more) shifts, multiple days in a rowxviii. These shifts
consist of assembling one part of a product over and over again, often dehumanizing the workers. In only two shifts, workers can make up to 300,000 Apple cameras for various devicesxix.
Workers say that they can produce up to 6,000 units per dayxx. The factory in Shenzhen runs
24/7, and workers often find themselves working odd hours - which can be very detrimental to
their mental and physical healthxxi. Workers stop only quickly to eat two meals a day, and find
themselves having little time to do anything except sleep between long shiftsxxii.
Section 3: Foxconn Factory Controversies
There are endless worker stories and problems that Foxconn factory has encountered over
the years of its manufacturing. In this section, I would like to focus on a few of these cases. First,
I would like to discuss the recent suicides and suicide attempts at the Shenzhen factory. Secondly, there have been worker riots in various Foxconn factories, and I will be looking at the riots in
Chengdu and Taiyuan. I will also look at various workers horror stories about some of the living and working conditions they go through on a daily basis. Finally, I will discuss a case in
which a journalist goes undercover in the Shenzhen Foxconn factory.
Section 3a: Suicides in Shenzhen

In 2010, there were eighteen suicide attempts at the Foxconn factory in Shenzhen, Chinaxxiii. Of these eighteen attempts fourteen resulted in death of young workersxxiv. One of these
workers was a nineteen year old girl who had started working at the factory when she was eighteenxxv. In december of 2010 she jumped from the sixth floor of her dormitory, and was pronounced dead seventeen hours laterxxvi. She left a suicide note for her family, which included her
younger sisters. In the note she talks about being bullied by her boss, saying that he yells at her
for being slow. She says that her hands are sore, and she is tired, really tired.xxvii
When her parents found out about her suicide, they came to the company, with tears running down their faces nonstopxxviii. This is just one of the fourteen suicides that occurred in the
Foxconn factory in Shenzhen in 2010. So many young lives were taken by the monotony and
hopelessness of the assembly line, leaving so many destroyed families in their wake. When the
Vice President of the Factory, Mr. Zhang, was interviewed about the suicide by Southern Daily,
he didnt have much to say. Simply put, he said overtime is unavoidable, along with the insensitive statement that he has no responsibility for the girls deathxxix. He also claims that young
people should bravely face pressure from life and workxxx.
What is being done to stop the suicides at the factory in Shenzhen? After the attempts in
2010, the factory responded by putting up nets around the dormitories and buildingsxxxi. There
have also been new activities for employees to do. Some of these new installments include a
swimming pool, help centers, libraries, and engagement centersxxxii. However, many are calling
for a more fundamental response, such as raising wages so that workers dont have to work excessive amounts of overtime in order to simply get by.
Section 3b: Riots and Mass-Suicide threats

A group of about one-hundred factory workers at the Foxconn in Wuhan, China, threatened to jump off of a rooftopxxxiii. The workers were involved in a protest over wages, as they
were expected to move to a production line that they didnt want to be a part ofxxxiv. In the end,
after negotiations, the workers left the building and forty-five of them decided to quitxxxv. It is
believed that this threatened mass-suicide was an act of desperation, as many workers feel that
they will not be heard at all unless they are threatening their own lives.
In the Foxconn factory in Chengdu, China, there was a riot involving at least a thousand
factory workersxxxvi. The riot stemmed from a dispute between workers and security staff, partly
because the workers felt they were being underpaid and treated poorly by staffxxxvii. When security was called into the dormitories to investigate an apparent theft that had taken place, residents
went haywire. Tensions had already been running high because of the way that workers were traditionally treated by the security guards, and the riot broke loose. Some residents fought off security guards, forcing them from the building, while others threw chairs, fireworks, and
bottlesxxxviii. Eventually, dozens of workers were arrested and the chaos calmed downxxxix.
Another riot broke out among workers at the Foxconn factory in the city of Taiyuan,
causing the factory to shut down for a dayxl. This was one of the biggest riots yet, involving
thousands of people. It was apparently sparked when a worker didnt show his identification
when entering the dormitory, and a security guard assaulted himxli. After the incident, over twothousand workers got involved in a brawl with security that prompted over five-thousand security forces to show up on the scenexlii. Afterwards, it was reported that at least forty people were
taken to the hospital with injuries, and the factory was shut down for a day to clean up the aftermathxliii.

These are just a few of the riots and protests that have been taking place across various
Foxconn factories throughout China. It is clear that workers are very unsatisfied with different
aspects of their lives. Many of these aspects stem from the very long hours, and extremely low
compensation they are getting for their work. Couple this with the fact that security and management are not treating the employees well, and it is easy to see that the riots will not likely end
anytime soon.
Section 3c: Factory-Related Deaths and Incidents
In May of 2010, a worker at Foxconn factory in Shenzhen died from overwork according to a released statement in June 2010xliv. The twenty-seven year old worker, Yan Li, apparently collapsed and died form exhaustion after working nonstop for thirty-four hoursxlv. He had been
on the night shift for a month straight and had worked overtime every single night during that
monthxlvi. This may seem extreme, but it is not unusual for workers to participate in extreme
amounts of overtime, especially when the factory is trying to meet a deadline on a new Apple
product.
A year later, in May of 2011, three workers were killed and fifteen were injured at the
Foxconn factory in Chengduxlvii. It was hard for anyone to find information on the incident, as it
was largely hidden. What has been found, however, is that a metal polishing shop was improperly ventilated, and dust was ignitedxlviii. The blast was investigated briefly and operations were
resumed after ventilation was supposedly improvedxlix. The problem of ventilation is a rather
primitive industrial problem that shouldnt have been there in the first place. The sheer neglect of
work place regulations caused the unnecessary death of three Foxconn employees.

At the Foxconn factory in Shenzhen, a twenty-six year old Zhang Tingzhen was hit with a
huge electric shock while he was fixing a spotlight on the wall of one of the buildings. He fell
twelve feet after receiving the initial shock and has since undergone five operations to try and
salvage what has been left of his brain after all of the damage he suffered. Since the accident,
Foxconn has been paying for his hospital treatment, as it should. However, Foxconn has been
pressuring Tingzhen to go through a disability assessment to see if his treatment is still necessary.
They are threatening to cut off his medical treatment unless he travels to where he was first hired
(nearly fifty miles away) to be tested. Unfortunately for Tingzhen, the trip isnt possible as half
of his brain was removed after the accident and he is still unable to walk or speak.
Section 3d: Undercover in Shenzhens Hell Factoryl
Twenty-year-old reporter Liu Zhi Yi was sent undercover by Southern Weekly Newspaper to the factory in Shenzhen. The reporter was there for twenty-eight days with the rest of the
500,000 employees at Foxconn. He went to investigate after there were nine suicides attempts in
a sixth month period, and he ultimately concluded that the suicides were job related. Yi said that
he was shocked to find out how little the workers actually got to rest or have any free time at all.
He said that they work all day long, only stopping to eat or sleep for short periods of time.
After he applied for the job, the only thing Yi had to do was sign a contract saying that
the company was not responsible for the long working hours (even though this agreement directly violates Chinese state regulation of 49 hours per week). Yi says that the only time he saw Foxconn workers smile was on payday, in which the ATM machines are overcrowded as people receive their meager wages. Even meal time isnt much of a thrill for workers, as they only get a
short amount of time to rest and eat. Yi said that the other workers shared some sad stories with

him during that time, and many of them expressed being jealous of those who are sick because
they can get some rest.
Some of the workers told Yi about some of the accidents that happen in the factories.
Many of them think the machines are dangerous for them to use, as one of the workers got his
finger cut-off during his shift. Others talk about dropping things on the floor while on the factory
lines because squatting down to grab something is restful for their aching bodies. Life outside of
the factory lines doesnt seem to be much better, either. Many workers dont even know the
names of the people living with them (eight to a small room) because they are too tired to form
lasting friendships. All they do is work, and they feel that they have nothing interesting to talk
about with others in the factory.
Conclusion:
The message from this undercover mission seems to be that life in Foxconn factory is a
very lonely one. When a worker isnt on a ten hour (plus) shift, they are sleeping or eating a meal
by themselves. Yi feels that many of the workers who have attempted suicide felt that it was the
only way out of the stressful and lonely lives they were living because of Foxconn. Yes, Foxconn
has been adding things for employees to do while living in the dormitories, but the workers feel
that they have no time to utilize them. Workers need higher wages so they dont have to work
extreme amounts of overtime, thus sacrificing their physical and mental health. It is true that the
US has outsourced its manufacturing to places just like (and worse than) Foxconn factories, but it
is not often that we think about what is happening on the other end.
!

Endnotes
iHays,

Jeffrey. "Apple and Foxconn: Work Conditions, Problems, and Changes." Facts and Details. Jeffrey Hays, 1 Apr. 2012. Web. 25 Mar. 2015. <http://factsanddetails.com/china/cat9/sub61/item2282.html>.
iiDogan,

Mehmet. "Production of Foxconn and Public Interest." Academia.edu. Academia. Web.

27 Mar. 2015. <http://www.academia.edu/7662695/PRODUCTION_OF_FOXCONN_AND_PUBLIC_INTEREST>.
iii

Hays

iv

Hays

Hays

viElmer-DeWitt,

Philip. "By the Numbers: How Foxconn Churns out Apple's IPhone 5." Fortune.
Fortune, Inc., 27 Nov. 2013. Web. 22 Mar. 2015. <http://fortune.com/2013/11/27/by-the-numbers-how-foxconn-churns-out-apples-iphone-5s/>.
viiKiss,

Jemima. "The Real Price of an IPhone 5: Life in the Foxconn Factory." Theguardian.
Guardian News, 13 Sept. 2012. Web. 22 Mar. 2015. <http://www.theguardian.com/technology/
2012/sep/13/cost-iphone-5-foxconn-factory>.
viiiWalker,

Rob. "Where Do Gadgets Really Come From?" The New York Times. The New York
Times Company, 25 June 2010. Web. 25 Mar. 2015. <http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/27/magazine/27FOB-consumed-t.html?_r=0>.
ixMurray,

Martin. "Export Processing Zones." About Money. About.com. Web. 27 Mar. 2015.
<http://logistics.about.com/od/supplychainintroduction/a/Export-Processing-Zones-epz.htm>.
xKelly,

Samantha. "10 Staggering Facts Behind Apple's Foxconn Factory." Mashable. Mashable,
Inc., 22 Feb. 2012. Web. 25 Mar. 2015. <http://mashable.com/2012/02/22/foxconn/>.
xi

Kelly

xiiChang,

Chris. "Undercover Report from Foxconn's Hell Factory." Gizmodo. Kinja, 19 May
2010. Web. 18 Mar. 2015. <http://gizmodo.com/5542527/undercover-report-from-foxconns-hellfactory>.
xiiiGarside,

Juliette. "Apple's Factories in China Are Breaking Employment Laws, Audit Finds."
Theguardian. Guardian News, 29 Mar. 2012. Web. 25 Mar. 2015. <http://www.theguardian.com/
technology/2012/mar/30/apple-factories-china-foxconn-audit>.
xiv

Garside

xv

Garside

xviKelly
xviiKelly
xviii

Kiss

xix

Kelly

xx

Dogan

xxiChang
xxii

Chang

xxiiiRamzy,

Austin. "Why Workers in China Are Threatening Mass Suicide." TIME. Time, Inc., 12
Jan. 2012. Web. 27 Mar. 2015. <http://world.time.com/2012/01/12/why-workers-in-china-arethreatening-mass-suicide/>.
xxiv

Ramzy

xxv"19-Year-Old

Jumps to Her Death at China Cell-Phone Factory." Institute for Global Labour
And Human Rights. Southern Daily, 8 Apr. 2011. Web. 26 Mar. 2015. <http://www.globallabourrights.org/alerts/19-year-old-jumps-to-her-death-at-china-cell-phone-factory>.
xxvi

19-Year-Old..

xxvii19-Year-Old..
xxviii19-Year-Old..
xxix19-Year-Old..
xxx19-Year-Old..
xxxiMengel,

Jimmy. "Apple Installs Suicide Prevention Nets at Factory." Wealth Wire. Wealth
Wire, 16 Feb. 2011. Web. 25 Mar. 2015. <http://www.wealthwire.com/news/global/778>.
xxxii

Mengel

xxxiiiRamzy,

Austin. "Chinese Factory Under Scrutiny as Suicides Mount." TIME. Time, Inc., 26
May 2010. Web. 22 Mar. 2015. <http://content.time.com/time/world/article/
0,8599,1991620,00.html>.
xxxiv

Ramzy

xxxv

Ramzy

xxxviJiayi,

Liu. "Riot in Foxconn's Chengdu Factory; Dozens Arrested." ZD Net. CBS Interactive,
8 June 2012. Web. 27 Mar. 2015. <http://www.zdnet.com/article/riot-in-foxconns-chengdu-factory-dozens-arrested/#>.
xxxviiGates,

Sara. "Foxconn Workers Riot in Chengdu Over Minor Incident, Leads to Massive
Uprising." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, Inc., 6 June 2012. Web. 27 Mar. 2015.
<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/06/foxconn-workers-riot-chengduchina_n_1573664.html>.
xxxviii
xxxix

Gates

Jiayi

xlBeech,

Hannah. "Riot Strikes Chinese City Where IPhone 5S Were Reportedly Made." TIME.
Time, Inc., 24 Sept. 2012. Web. 26 Mar. 2015. <http://world.time.com/2012/09/24/riot-strikeschinese-city-where-the-iphone-5-was-reportedly-made/>.
xli

Beech

xlii

Beech

xliii

Beech

xlivJones,

Kevin. "Foxconn Worker Dies of Exhaustion - Focus on Working Hours." SafetyAtWorkBlog. WordPress, 8 June 2010. Web. 20 Mar. 2015. <http://safetyatworkblog.com/
2010/06/08/foxconn-worker-dies-of-exhaustion-focus-on-working-hours/>.
xlv

Jones

xlvi

Jones

xlviiHays
xlviii
xlix
l

Hays

Hays

Chang !
Note: Section 3d was taken from this article