Gay Forums - News & Politics - Why Apple took its jobs overseas and — as Steve Jobs told Barack Obama — "Those jobs aren’t coming back."

Why Apple took its jobs overseas and — as Steve Jobs told Barack Obama — "Those jobs aren’t coming back."

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Jan 23, 2012 8:11 PM GMT

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/22/business/apple-america-and-a-squeezed-middle-class.html?_r=1

Apple executives say that going overseas, at this point, is their only option. One former executive described how the company relied upon a Chinese factory to revamp iPhone manufacturing just weeks before the device was due on shelves. Apple had redesigned the iPhone’s screen at the last minute, forcing an assembly line overhaul. New screens began arriving at the plant near midnight.

A foreman immediately roused 8,000 workers inside the company’s dormitories, according to the executive. Each employee was given a biscuit and a cup of tea, guided to a workstation and within half an hour started a 12-hour shift fitting glass screens into beveled frames. Within 96 hours, the plant was producing over 10,000 iPhones a day.

“The speed and flexibility is breathtaking,” the executive said. “There’s no American plant that can match that.” [...]

The facility has 230,000 employees, many working six days a week, often spending up to 12 hours a day at the plant. Over a quarter of Foxconn’s work force lives in company barracks and many workers earn less than $17 a day....

“They could hire 3,000 people overnight,” said Jennifer Rigoni, who was Apple’s worldwide supply demand manager until 2010, but declined to discuss specifics of her work. “What U.S. plant can find 3,000 people overnight and convince them to live in dorms?”

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Jan 23, 2012 8:21 PM GMT

"The facility has 230,000 employees, many working six days a week, often spending up to 12 hours a day at the plant. Over a quarter of Foxconn’s work force lives in company barracks and many workers earn less than $17 a day....

“They could hire 3,000 people overnight,” said Jennifer Rigoni, who was Apple’s worldwide supply demand manager until 2010, but declined to discuss specifics of her work. “What U.S. plant can find 3,000 people overnight and convince them to live in dorms?”

You think this is a good thing?

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Jan 23, 2012 8:25 PM GMT

This is disgusting.

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Jan 23, 2012 8:28 PM GMT

meninlove said
"The facility has 230,000 employees, many working six days a week, often spending up to 12 hours a day at the plant. Over a quarter of Foxconn’s work force lives in company barracks and many workers earn less than $17 a day....

“They could hire 3,000 people overnight,” said Jennifer Rigoni, who was Apple’s worldwide supply demand manager until 2010, but declined to discuss specifics of her work. “What U.S. plant can find 3,000 people overnight and convince them to live in dorms?”

You think this is a good thing?

I think that the workers being allowed to choose between what they want is a good thing as opposed to having choices forced on them. It is usually those who sit on their high perches with lots of income who decide on behalf of the less fortunate what choices they can and cannot have through legislation that helps them sleep better at night.

That's a big issue for a lot of companies - that of worker flexibility. This is a more extreme case given the sheer logistic requirements of producing Apple's popular products but it happens at much smaller scales as well.

That being said, I have always considered outsourcing to be much like other forms of technology and mechanization. And so it is with China - many of the jobs that have left would have left anyway if not to China to machines. But this doesn't mean that domestic labor doesn't have its advantage but it seems a bit insane to encourage jobs to leave.

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Jan 23, 2012 8:34 PM GMT

Open up factories in Detroit where all the car factories used to be. Guaranteed that more than 3000 people will show up looking for a job.

Let's face it.. Apple is just like any other company that is looking to minimize costs and maximize profits. The jobs aren't coming back to the US because labor is cheaper elsewhere.

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Jan 23, 2012 8:34 PM GMT

southbeach1500 said
Christian73 saidThis is disgusting.

And yet liberals love their IPhones, IPads, IPods and Apple Computers. Hypocrisy anyone?

I'm writing to you from a PC, dumbass.

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Jan 23, 2012 8:35 PM GMT

xrichx saidOpen up factories in Detroit where all the car factories used to be. Guaranteed that more than 3000 people will show up looking for a job.

Let's face it.. Apple is just like any other company that is looking to minimize costs and maximize profits. The jobs aren't coming back to the US because labor is cheaper elsewhere.

Yup.

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Jan 23, 2012 8:39 PM GMT

southbeach1500 said
Christian73 said
southbeach1500 said
Christian73 saidThis is disgusting.

And yet liberals love their IPhones, IPads, IPods and Apple Computers. Hypocrisy anyone?

I'm writing to you from a PC, dumbass.

Who said I was referring to you?

Well, you regularly refer to me as a "liberal" (despite my protestations) and, like riddler, make blanket statements with little or no proof.

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Jan 23, 2012 8:43 PM GMT

Christian73 said
xrichx saidOpen up factories in Detroit where all the car factories used to be. Guaranteed that more than 3000 people will show up looking for a job.

Let's face it.. Apple is just like any other company that is looking to minimize costs and maximize profits. The jobs aren't coming back to the US because labor is cheaper elsewhere.

Yup.

Er no - productivity ends up being higher. It's productivity not the explicit costs of wages.

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Jan 23, 2012 8:44 PM GMT

riddler78 said
Christian73 said
xrichx saidOpen up factories in Detroit where all the car factories used to be. Guaranteed that more than 3000 people will show up looking for a job.

Let's face it.. Apple is just like any other company that is looking to minimize costs and maximize profits. The jobs aren't coming back to the US because labor is cheaper elsewhere.

Yup.

Er no - productivity ends up being higher. It's productivity not the explicit costs of wages.

Incorrect. Americans workers are among the most productive in the world. They're simply too expensive if you want to suck up every last penny of profits.

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Jan 23, 2012 8:46 PM GMT

Christian73 said
riddler78 said
Christian73 said
xrichx saidOpen up factories in Detroit where all the car factories used to be. Guaranteed that more than 3000 people will show up looking for a job.

Let's face it.. Apple is just like any other company that is looking to minimize costs and maximize profits. The jobs aren't coming back to the US because labor is cheaper elsewhere.

Yup.

Er no - productivity ends up being higher. It's productivity not the explicit costs of wages.

Incorrect. Americans workers are among the most productive in the world. They're simply too expensive if you want to suck up every last penny of profits.

Wrong again - it's not about the labor component costs, it's about overall productivity. If others can do it more cheaply then they are more cost effective and also more productive given the cost of labor versus output which can be changed - but if you restrict things like choice then obviously you're going to have higher costs and falling productivity.

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Jan 23, 2012 8:48 PM GMT

riddler78 said
Christian73 said
riddler78 said
Christian73 said
xrichx saidOpen up factories in Detroit where all the car factories used to be. Guaranteed that more than 3000 people will show up looking for a job.

Let's face it.. Apple is just like any other company that is looking to minimize costs and maximize profits. The jobs aren't coming back to the US because labor is cheaper elsewhere.

Yup.

Er no - productivity ends up being higher. It's productivity not the explicit costs of wages.

Incorrect. Americans workers are among the most productive in the world. They're simply too expensive if you want to suck up every last penny of profits.

blah blah blah Chicago school economics bullshit claim blah blah blah blah lots of meaningless words that sound good blah blah blah Ayn Rand blah blah blah.

Sure.

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Jan 23, 2012 8:55 PM GMT

Christian73 said
riddler78 said
Christian73 said
riddler78 said
Christian73 said
xrichx saidOpen up factories in Detroit where all the car factories used to be. Guaranteed that more than 3000 people will show up looking for a job.

Let's face it.. Apple is just like any other company that is looking to minimize costs and maximize profits. The jobs aren't coming back to the US because labor is cheaper elsewhere.

Yup.

Er no - productivity ends up being higher. It's productivity not the explicit costs of wages.

Incorrect. Americans workers are among the most productive in the world. They're simply too expensive if you want to suck up every last penny of profits.

blah blah blah Chicago school economics bullshit claim blah blah blah blah lots of meaningless words that sound good blah blah blah Ayn Rand blah blah blah.

Sure.

Once again, Christian toils away against reality and economics.

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Jan 24, 2012 6:41 AM GMT

Well I suppose business could outsource pilots of aircraft to immigrant workers rotating them every six months as their work visas run out. I'm sure SB would love that. Come to think of it I guess they could outsource just about all jobs to migrant workers, or send them overseas electronically.

That would leave janitorial,custodial and retail among the most common jobs available to US people.

How great.

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Jan 24, 2012 3:36 PM GMT

riddler78 saidhttp://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/22/business/apple-america-and-a-squeezed-middle-class.html?_r=1

Apple executives say that going overseas, at this point, is their only option. One former executive described how the company relied upon a Chinese factory to revamp iPhone manufacturing just weeks before the device was due on shelves. Apple had redesigned the iPhone’s screen at the last minute, forcing an assembly line overhaul. New screens began arriving at the plant near midnight.

A foreman immediately roused 8,000 workers inside the company’s dormitories, according to the executive. Each employee was given a biscuit and a cup of tea, guided to a workstation and within half an hour started a 12-hour shift fitting glass screens into beveled frames. Within 96 hours, the plant was producing over 10,000 iPhones a day.

“The speed and flexibility is breathtaking,” the executive said. “There’s no American plant that can match that.” [...]

The facility has 230,000 employees, many working six days a week, often spending up to 12 hours a day at the plant. Over a quarter of Foxconn’s work force lives in company barracks and many workers earn less than $17 a day....

“They could hire 3,000 people overnight,” said Jennifer Rigoni, who was Apple’s worldwide supply demand manager until 2010, but declined to discuss specifics of her work. “What U.S. plant can find 3,000 people overnight and convince them to live in dorms?”

Gee............ thats a no brainer.

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Jan 24, 2012 3:37 PM GMT

riddler78 said
Christian73 said
riddler78 said
Christian73 said
xrichx saidOpen up factories in Detroit where all the car factories used to be. Guaranteed that more than 3000 people will show up looking for a job.

Let's face it.. Apple is just like any other company that is looking to minimize costs and maximize profits. The jobs aren't coming back to the US because labor is cheaper elsewhere.

Yup.

Er no - productivity ends up being higher. It's productivity not the explicit costs of wages.

Incorrect. Americans workers are among the most productive in the world. They're simply too expensive if you want to suck up every last penny of profits.

Wrong again - it's not about the labor component costs, it's about overall productivity. If others can do it more cheaply then they are more cost effective and also more productive given the cost of labor versus output which can be changed - but if you restrict things like choice then obviously you're going to have higher costs and falling productivity.

Yeah.. we used to do that here.. its was called SLAVERY.

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Jan 24, 2012 3:38 PM GMT

meninlove said
"The facility has 230,000 employees, many working six days a week, often spending up to 12 hours a day at the plant. Over a quarter of Foxconn’s work force lives in company barracks and many workers earn less than $17 a day....

“They could hire 3,000 people overnight,” said Jennifer Rigoni, who was Apple’s worldwide supply demand manager until 2010, but declined to discuss specifics of her work. “What U.S. plant can find 3,000 people overnight and convince them to live in dorms?”

You think this is a good thing?

Riddler would make an EXCELLENT slave owner.

metta

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Jan 31, 2012 3:17 AM GMT

This American Life also did a very good episode regarding Apple in China. It discusses Foxconn in more detail

MR. DAISEY AND THE APPLE FACTORY
http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/454/mr-daisey-and-the-apple-factory

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Jan 31, 2012 3:54 AM GMT

TropicalMark said
riddler78 said
Christian73 said
riddler78 said
Christian73 said
xrichx saidOpen up factories in Detroit where all the car factories used to be. Guaranteed that more than 3000 people will show up looking for a job.

Let's face it.. Apple is just like any other company that is looking to minimize costs and maximize profits. The jobs aren't coming back to the US because labor is cheaper elsewhere.

Yup.

Er no - productivity ends up being higher. It's productivity not the explicit costs of wages.

Incorrect. Americans workers are among the most productive in the world. They're simply too expensive if you want to suck up every last penny of profits.

Wrong again - it's not about the labor component costs, it's about overall productivity. If others can do it more cheaply then they are more cost effective and also more productive given the cost of labor versus output which can be changed - but if you restrict things like choice then obviously you're going to have higher costs and falling productivity.
Yeah.. we used to do that here.. its was called SLAVERY.

Ah so basically you would force your standards and perceptions of what is "fair" or "unfair" on the workers elsewhere in the world. These workers have all chosen to work at places like Foxconn - which are an improvement on other facilities. They are able to leave. You do understand that there is no free will in slavery? Would you rather they be poor and unemployed?

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Why Apple took its jobs overseas and — as Steve Jobs told Barack Obama — "Those jobs aren’t coming back."