foxconn

Foxconn Technology Group is implementing a plan to increase employee participation in its labor union, the company said today in a statement obtained by CNET.

"As a part of efforts to implement the Action Plan that was developed together with the Fair Labor Association (FLA) following the assessment they conducted in early 2012, Foxconn is introducing measures to enhance employee representation in the Foxconn Labor Union and to raise employees' awareness of the organization," the company wrote today in a statement.

Apple brought in the FLA last year to inspect Foxconn's facilities and determine if there were … Read more

Apple has severed its relationship with a China-based third-party labor supplier after discovering a conspiracy to employ dozens of underage workers there, Apple reported in its latest Supplier Responsibility report, which was released this evening.

The iPhone maker said it discovered the violations during an audit of the supplier, Guangdong Real Faith Pingzhou Electronics (PZ). In addition, Apple reported the labor agency that knowingly provided the child labor to PZ to local authorizes.

The agency, which allegedly conspired with the children's families to falsify age-verification documents, had its license suspended and was levied a fine.

"The children were … Read more

Foxconn Technology Group, the Taiwanese contract manufacturer that assembles products for Apple and several other tech giants, acknowledged a "workplace issue" at a factory in Fengcheng, China, run by one of its suppliers, Jiangxi Xin Hai Yang Precision Components Co.

A Hong Kong watchdog group -- Students and Scholars Against Corporate Misbehaviour, or SACOM -- called it a strike of more than 1,000 workers who took to the streets to demand better pay and dignity. While Foxconn did not disclose the products or components made at the factory, a Sacom representative said she believes workers there produce … Read more

Foxconn is cooperating with Chinese authorities investigating allegations that executives at the electronics manufacturer received illegal bribes from supply chain partners.

The company, which produces consumer electronics for companies such as Apple, Microsoft, Hewlett-Packard, Dell, and Sony, said in a statement that it brought in law enforcement officials to work with an internal audit team investigating the charges "against a number of Foxconn employees."

The statement comes after Taiwan-based Next Magazine reported that a Foxconn executive had been arrested in September as part of the allegations. When queried by CNET, a Foxconn representative declined to address whether an … Read more

The attention brought to bear on the labor practices of Apple's manufacturers and suppliers in China may be starting to create real, positive change in the electronics industry, says an article published this evening in The New York Times.

The Times, along with other media outlets, published several high-profile reports this year on the practices of Apple suppliers -- including contract manufacturer Foxconn, which produces Apple's iPhone and iPad, as well as products for other companies. The reports also included looks at Apple's lack of manufacturing facilities in the U.S. and its tax strategies.

Such media … Read more

Foxconn is branching out from its supplier roots by taking a staking in a camera maker.

The company, also known as Hon Hai Precision, said today that it has paid $200 million to acquire an 8.88 percent stake in GoPro, in turn valuing the camera maker at $2.25 billion overall.

In addition, Foxconn founder and CEO Terry Gou will join GoPro's board of directors.

Headquartered in San Mateo, Calif., GoPro makes a line of wearable and gear-mounted cameras that enable users to shoot videos of themselves in action. The cameras are used by athletes, video production people, … Read more

Key Apple manufacturing partner Foxconn is reportedly at work on some "initial testing" on Apple TV sets, according to a new report.

Citing a source at Hon Hai (otherwise known as Foxconn), Focus Taiwan says the manufacturer is at work on some early testing of TV sets that range between 46 and 55 inches.

The report comes a week after similar claims from The Wall Street Journal that work had begun on an Apple TV set as part of a partnership between Sharp and Hon Hai.

As for timing, Focus Taiwan's source says the production schedule hints … Read more

Despite recent efforts to improve working conditions at Foxconn's factories, a new investigative report claims that there are still numerous issues.

The findings come in a report by French TV program Envoyé Spécial, which yesterday aired hidden-camera footage it captured at Foxconn's facility in Zhengzhou, China, which manufactures Apple's iPhone. It's also the same factory where a worker strike occurred two months ago.

Among the issues found by the group, as relayed by Engadget, were workers living in buildings that were in the process of being built, meaning those living there were without … Read more

Chinese labor arbitrators have ruled against the father of a Foxconn worker severely injured in a factory accident last year, according to documents reviewed by Reuters.

Zhang Guangde -- the father of Zhang Tingzhen -- took Foxconn to court in October, a year after his son was hit with a massive electrical shock while repairing a spotlight in Foxconn's Shenzhen factory. Zhang suffered major brain damage after falling 12 feet to the ground, an injury that required doctors to remove half of his brain to keep him alive.

Since the accident, Foxconn had been paying Zhang's medical bills. … Read more