Monday, January 23, 2012

Apple and China

From a New York Times article on why Apple products are made in China:

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.

How the U.S. Lost Out on iPhone Work (New York Times)
Related listening
“Mr. Daisey and the Apple Factory” (This American Life)

comments: 2

Daughter Number Three said...

I was (maybe still am) planning to quote that same part of the Times article, plus a few others.

Jaw-dropping.

I just heard about the Mr. Daisey story on TAL from Boing Boing.

My simple-minded response is that China needs unions.

Michael Leddy said...

The This American Life show is well worth the time, one of the best.

Cognitive dissonance: reading Steve Jobs’s commencement address and reading about how workers in China live.