The New York Times recently published an article discussing the unsafe working conditions in the factories Apple employs to build its products. It’s no secret that several factories belonging to Apple’s ODM partners have harsh working conditions; there are rumors of anti-suicide pledges that Foxconn workers have to sign, and safety is obviously a concern following multiple preventable explosions at Foxconn plants. While much has reportedly been done to improve working conditions at these plants,...

Apple, a company known for its secrecy, has released a list of its official suppliers for the first time ever. Due to backlash from human rights groups, Apple created a supplier responsibility page on the company’s website. Previously, the page only featured labor and human rights, worker health and safety, environmental impact, and general ethics information. The company has updated the page, however, and it now now includes a list of more than 150 different companies that supply parts for Apple p...

Aluminum dust, which accumulates during the iPad polishing process, likely contributed to the recent explosion at an iPad plant that injured 61 workers according to the group China Labor Watch. The explosion occurred earlier this week at the Pegatron-owned Ri Teng Computer Accessory factory. According to the United States Department of Labor Occupational Health & Safety administration, aluminum can become explosive if it is “suspended in the air at the right concentration.” Safety has alway...

Foxconn’s plans to build a $12 billion factory in Brazil dedicated to producing iPads is “in doubt,” government officials in Brazil told Reuters. Reportedly, negotiations have stalled because both sides have yet to reach an agreement on tax breaks for Foxconn. Additionally, Brazil may not be able to populate the factory with enough skilled laborers. Worse still, Brazil has been tasked with building infrastructure for the 2014 World Cup followed by the Olympics two years later. Skeptics argue...

A Foxconn factory in Shadong, China caught fire on Tuesday but the blaze was quickly extinguished, Reuters reported. Foxconn said there will not be an impact on production and there were no worker casualties. An explosion caused damage at a Foxconn factory in Chengdu, China in May, and resulted in three Foxconn worker deaths, 15 injuries and a slowdown in Apple iPad production. That tragedy also caused a 2.14% monthly revenue dip, or about US$6.95 billion in lost revenue. A Foxconn spokesperson told Reuters t...

Apple may invest $1 billion in a Sharp LCD factory to ensure adequate production of screens for its iPhone and iPad, according to MF Global FXA Securities analyst David Rubenstein. Apple typically buys its LCD displays from Samsung, LG and Chimei Innolux, although recent reports have suggested the iPhone maker has boosted its orders with Samsung after LG failed to meet iPad 2 display requirements. However, Apple’s recent legal battles with Samsung in the United States, the European Union and Australia c...

Hon Hai-owned manufacturing giant Foxconn intends to release a portion of its workforce in favor of 1 million new robot workers according to a new report. Xinhua News Agency said on Friday that Hon Hai chairman and founder Terry Gou confirmed the news, seemingly in callous fashion at an employee dance party. The new robots will be used to perform “simple and routine work” such as part assembly and welding. Foxconn currently employs approximately 1.2 million people and also utilizes 10,000 robots.Â...

An explosion at Foxconn’s iPad manufacturing plant in Chengdu, China last month had a negative impact on the company’s business in May despite initial assurances to the contrary. Foxconn’s revenue last month dipped 2.14% sequentially to NT$200.56 billion, or approximately US$6.95 billion, following production halts tied to the fatal explosion that killed three workers and injured at least 15 more. The tragic accident, caused by the ignition of flammable aluminum dust in a parts polishing wor...

DigiTimes is citing a report from sznews.com today that three Foxconn employees have been arrested in Shenzhen, China for leaking the design specs of the iPad 2 to third-party case manufacturers ahead of the device’s launch. The three were allegedly arrested in December of last year and were charged in late March for the leaks. Foxconn grew suspicious of its own employees after accurate third-party iPad 2 cases began popping up on the market; the firm then asked local authorities to investigate. Foxconn...

New intel gathered by enthusiast blog Droid-Life sheds some light on the steps Motorola XOOM owners are going to have to take to make their tablets LTE compatible. Approximately 90 days after launch, customers can send their XOOM units back to Motorola, free of charge, for the promised LTE upgrade. The whole process, according to a Talking Points data sheet, should take six business days. The memo also notes that users “do not have to change their [data] plan when transitioning to 4G LTE.” Hit t...

Foxconn finds itself in more hot water Wednesday as new reports emerge concerning working conditions at a factory operated by sister company Foxteq. Workers at the packing plant, located in Rydalmere, Australia, have come forward with allegations of exploitation and poor working conditions. Some went as far as to describe conditions at the plant as “depression-era,” with employees required to work long hours and no guarantee that they would be asked to return the next day. Foxteq performs packing ...

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Samsung Mobile Display will use Samsung’s new, $2.1 billion factory being constructed in Korea to increase display production. The new factory, located in the southern section of Seoul, will up Samsung’s display making capacity from 3 million units to 30 million units per month. Martin Fichter, HTC’s vice president of product management and planning, said “the display was definitely one of the bigger issues that we needed to solve.” Samsu...

What happens when the assembly team up in Waterloo forgets to delete some test pictures on a BlackBerry Storm? Well, usually that person who bought the phone will notice the left-behind photosnap and send it into BGR! If anyone remembers the cute Asian chick in the iPhone factory fiasco, this is basically the same drill. We’re told that this picture was left on a production BlackBerry Storm purchased from Verizon. While it doesn’t expose too much, it gives us a nice little view into how these pupp...