Foxconn, which officially goes by Foxconn International Holdings, a multinational subsidiary of Hon Hai Precision Industry Co Ltd is a firm that helps many major product makers outsource their manufacturing to factories in other countries. They have been around since 1974 and help make some of America’s and the world’s most prominent products such as iPhones and iPods among others. They have been under a great deal of heat from human rights organizations as well as unions and related firms due to their living conditions that they house their staff in. Often times the living they provide their workers is barely habitable although perhaps slightly better than the communities around them by comparison but still nothing you would want to live in. From a Global Good perspective it is sad to see these people hurting and working for such low wages; especially when you realize that we are all part of the problem. Whether your a parent getting your child a happy meal with a “free” toy included or throwing out your phone every few months for the latest, the real price you are paying is that you are supporting the companies who mass produce quantity by cutting the costs of labor with their outsourcing and lowely living conditions. A Firm that brings in $60 billion in revenue should be able to better support its’ workers.
Now on the other side of the coin; there are many Global Good reasons why we do need some firms who can make electronics for cheap which do add some benefits to the negative side effects such as third world countries being able to have access to electronics and such; but at what cost? Here at Global Good Group we just want to bring information to the people of the World so that they can make their own decisions. Firms like Foxconn in many ways are necessary to help outsource product manufacturing so that innovative firms like Apple can focus on their competencies such as innovation itself but the benefits of this outsourcing must be checked with propper precautions and guidelines to protect workers, properly compensate them, and help them in a positive way emotionally, mentally, and physically other than a meager pay check.
Foxconn Suicides Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foxconn_suicides — There is a Wikipedia article dedicated just to suicides that have occurred from more than a dozen employees of this multinational firm due to the long working hours and discrimination that many of them have to put up with such as mainland Chinese workers being harrassed by their Taiwanese coworker counterparts.
Even another Wikipedia entry exists for 2011 Chengdu Foxconn explosion where 3 workers were killed ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_Chengdu_Foxconn_explosion_incident ) shows that firms like this need to really take better precautions to ensure a good working environment for those that call themselves Foxconn employees.
Revenue: $59.3 billion with a net income of $2.2 billion
Employees: 920,000
Official Website: Foxconn.com
Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Foxconn/112308698781407?sk=wiki
List of Foxconn Products: http://www.foxconn.com/NWInG/products/default.asp
Foxconn’s Global Network: http://www.foxconn.com/NWInG/about/global.asp
Official Foxconn Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foxconn
Related News:
“Foxconn to Hire Up to 400,000 Workers in 2011, Increasing Employment by 50%” – IBTimes.com – http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/43960/20100818/foxconn-to-hire-up-to-400-000-workers-in-2011-increasing-employment-by-50.htm