Supply Chain

A Job to Die For

Aug. 5, 2010

Imagine a product so much in demand that people would literally kill themselves over it. While that's not exactly what's going on with the iPad and iPhone, it's pretty close... in a very creepy kind of way.

Apparently, management practices at the Chinese plants that assemble nearly 70% of all the iPads and iPhones for Apple are so abhorrent that 10 employees have committed or attempted suicide in the first half of this year. Proving that its senior management really is tone-deaf to its employees, Foxconn has reacted in two significant ways:

1) The company has raised the monthly pay for assembly workers from $133 to $295. In case you're curious, $295 per month adds up to $3,540 per year, or roughly $1.67 per hour (that's assuming a 40-hour work week, which is probalby assuming way too low). Or to put it another way, for one of these assembly workers to purchase an iPad themselves, it would cost them roughly two months' wages.

2) Lest you think this huge increase in pay (percentage-wise, at least) was all that Foxconn did for its employees, think again. The company, sparing no expense, has installed "anti-jumping" safety nets outside of the windows and roofs of its factories and employee dormitories. Now, if somebody decides to end it all and plunge to their doom, they'll have to do it somewhere off Foxconn property.

You can read more of the details on Foxconn's managerial style here.

About the Author

Dave Blanchard Blog | Senior Editor

Focus: Supply Chain

Email: [email protected]

Follow on Twitter @supplychainDave

Call: 216-931-9794

Contributing Editor Dave Blanchard provides the IndustryWeek audience his expertise in lean supply chain, reporting on topics from logistics, procurement and inventory management to warehousing and distribution. He also specializes in business finance news and analysis, writing on such topics as corporate finance and tax, cost management, governance, risk and compliance, and budgeting and reporting.

Dave is also the chief editor of Penton Media’s Business Finance and editorial director of Material Handling & Logistics.

With over 25 years of experience, Dave literally wrote the book on supply chain management, Supply Chain Management Best Practices (John Wiley & Sons, 2010), and is a frequent speaker at industry events. Dave is an award-winning journalist and has been twice named one of the nation’s top columnists by the American Society of Business Publications Editors.

Dave received his B.A. in English from Northern Illinois University, and was a high school teacher prior to his joining the publishing industry. He is married and has two daughters.