It’s been an interesting couple of weeks for Apple, as the company announced record profits on its financial results conference call earlier this week. They also received a ton of negative press over the working conditions in factories producing Apple goods in China.
A lengthy article appearing in yesterday’s New York Times provided a glimpse into Apple’s relationship with its manufacturing partners. The same article was later picked up by Chinese business magazine Caixin, where readers voiced a wide range of opinions in the comments section:
If people saw what kind of life workers lived before they found a job at Foxconn, they would come to an opposite conclusion of this story: that Apple is such a philanthropist. – Zhengchu1982
When the explosion happened, I was working for media in Chengdu. Domestic media were all silenced and only allowed to use the (Xinhua) official report, because that (Foxconn factory) was a key project. Compare to what The New York Times wrote, the gap really saddened my heart. – Chen Qiye
Clearly this is a large, and complicated problem lacking a clear solution. I’ve been struggling to come up with a clear opinion on the matter myself, and I’m wondering what you think. Is Apple doing all they can? Does the recent insight into working conditions make you look at your iPhone a little differently?
Photo Credit: Arstechnica.com
Source: TUAW, AppleInsider
