Mass Suicide Threats at Xbox 360 Plant

[Valwin]

On Jan. 2, over 300 employees at a Foxconn plan in Wuhan, China threatened to throw themselves off a building in a mass suicide. Foxconn makes Microsoft, Nintendo, Sony products. These workers manufacture Xbox 360s.
According to Chinese anti-government website China Jasmine Revolution (via Watch China Times), the workers were protesting denied compensation they were promised.
On Jan. 2, the workers asked for a raise. Foxconn told them they could either keep their jobs with no pay increase or quit and get compensation. Most decided to quit with compensation. However, the agreement was supposedly terminated, and the workers never received their payments.
Website Record China reported that the uproar the incident actually caused Xbox 360 production to be temporarily suspended.
The mayor of Wuhan intervened to talk down the group down, and on Jan. 3 at 9pm, the group of 300 decided not to jump, ending what could have been a deadly game of chicken.
Suicides at Foxconn made major news in 2010 when over a dozen employees committed suicide, leading to Foxconn installing suicide prevention nets at some of its facilities.

Source

 

[kohkindachi]

WTH...toying with life? :s

 

[RupeeClock]

Foxconn also manufactures Apple products, but knowing Gawker Media they may have chosen to omit that detail.
Yeah. they hate their jobs, it's not humane apparently.

 

[BORTZ]

That's...terrible.

 

[boktor666]

Sigh.. so sad that it all has to come to this kind of actions. :/ I feel bad for the employees, and I do hope they get what they rightfully deserve. You can't just go ahead and toy around with people, it's just terrible.

 

[Bladexdsl]

soooo cos their not getting the compensation they want ($) their going to kill themselves instead...yeah $ is really more important than life.

GREAT STRETGEDY!

 

[4-leaf-clover]

That's just terrible... So sad that things like this happen.

 

[DinohScene]

Only thing that businesses care about is big fat profits.
The well being of employees isn't important anymore.

Why wait a month to get that new fat Mercedes or that 6th home somewhere in the Bahama's if you can get it this instant.
Only thing you have to do is make conditions worse for your employees and reward them with lower salaries.

In fact the whole world revolves around gaining more profit.

We can't do anything about it but to sit still and let it happen.

 

[NES SNES V.B. N64 G.C. Wii WiiU]

Geez, Foxcon must be pretty bad?

 

[Paarish]

Only thing that businesses care about is big fat profits.
The well being of employees isn't important anymore.

Why wait a month to get that new fat Mercedes or that 6th home somewhere in the Bahama's if you can get it this instant.
Only thing you have to do is make conditions worse for your employees and reward them with lower salaries.

In fact the whole world revolves around gaining more profit.

We can't do anything about it but to sit still and let it happen.

Yay capitalism(!)

 

[DeadLocked]

Anti-suicide nets? Why not just pay for better conditions and pay the workers more.

 

[Valwin]

Anti-suicide nets? Why not just pay for better conditions and pay the workers more.

because this is china

 

[alidsl]

They weren't going to kill themselves, no-one would have been able to do it. The only reason they succeeded is because Foxconn didn't want to take the risk

 

[Hop2089]

Foxconn again, get your act together and pay your employees better. No wonder the US wants to cut out China one way or another, look at their business practices, despiciable.

I want Foxconn's top management on trial or shot, better shot. No excuse for the shoddy and shady business practices like this.

 

[Gh0sti]

suicide is defiantly the answer, for those who have jobs maybe this can get your raise "if you dont give me a raise imma commit suicide off this building"

why cant they just protest without threatening their own lives the americans did it by angry protesting and destroying plants and sit ins

 

[Celice]

Those who can't understand why the suicide over money have been spoiled by their life and how well taken care of they are.

 

[Jamstruth]

suicide is defiantly the answer, for those who have jobs maybe this can get your raise "if you dont give me a raise imma commit suicide off this building"

why cant they just protest without threatening their own lives the americans did it by angry protesting and destroying plants and sit ins

Because the Chinese government won't listen to them. They try to stop anything of that kind. Mass suicide threats get more media attention from other countries than a strike would hence they make these threats in the hope that there will be a stronger reaction in their favour.

 

[CyborGamer]

soooo cos their not getting the compensation they want ($) their going to kill themselves instead...yeah $ is really more important than life.

GREAT STRETGEDY!

Starve to death... or instant death? What fantastic choices!

Unlike here in Aussie, those guys don't get any beer money when they are unemployed, ever.

suicide is defiantly the answer, for those who have jobs maybe this can get your raise "if you dont give me a raise imma commit suicide off this building"

why cant they just protest without threatening their own lives the americans did it by angry protesting and destroying plants and sit ins

Cuz 1) it's still a communist run country and 2) last angry protest on the road lead to tanks rofling over them. Well 2's kinda ancient history but you see my point.

 

[DarkStriker]

The thing about china is most of them live in VERY poor conditions. Their workplace must be awful. Not to mention most of them will even have more problems living when they quit their job. Finding job in china without education is HARD and even with one it is still hard. Thus the compensation plays a big role. And when they knew they weren't getting it. What more is there to do? Most of them don't have anyone waiting for them at home. Most of them nearly get by the day. What is there to lose? Might as well end your life.

Well most people here would just be ignorant about my post anyways as they dont live in China and neither do they know the conditions for most of the people in china as they are shut in their house being ignorant of the world.

 

[KingVamp]

If Foxconn is the one at fault, why did they even mention the other companies?

Anyway, that pretty sad...