Re/code:
Foxconn is eager to present a different face, and agreed to give Re/code a tour of a sprawling manufacturing facility in Shenzhen in the south China province of Guangdong were it makes iPads and Macs. To be clear, we were not allowed unfettered access. A special assistant to CEO Terry Gou traveled from Shanghai to escort us on a tour that appeared to paint a picture of workers being treated well. We weren’t permitted to observe the factory floor — an unidentified customer wouldn’t allow that.
I think it’s fair to assume we all know who the “unidentified customer” was.
Many years ago, (circa 95) I was on Taiwan trip in an Engineering University swap.
My thing was MMC which is now becoming fashionable (metal matrix composites) look it up.
The chap the picked me up was meant to be my engineering head, but needed to drop in at a factory.
It was compal in ’95. On the same production line I saw sony, compaq, HP, dell, and Texas Instruments.
Hate the headline.
I remember the first time I learned about the concept of “contract manufacturing,” and how it affected my opinions about the supposed differences between products of major brands. Hell of a revelation.