Where The Workers Who Made Your iPhone Sleep At Night

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Where The Workers Who Made Your iPhone Sleep At Night

Foxconn's factory in Shenzhen, China, is home to about half of its 420,000 workers. They make many of our gadgets and computers, then walk to dormitories on the 2.1-kilometer-square campus. I got to look inside.

I traveled to China to report on Foxconn and Shenzhen as part of a special feature for WIRED, which will be published in an upcoming issue of the magazine. In the meantime, here's a small glimpse of some of the things I saw while in Shenzhen.

[...]

Since a spate of eleven suicides earlier this year, every building on the Foxconn campus is draped in netting. It is morbid but seemingly effective; there have been no suicides since the nets were installed in May.[/p]

Source

Check the source to see all the pictures, of course.

Contributed by Rydian​

 

[Etalon]

Thanks for sharing this! Haven't been at Gizmodo for quite a while...

Pictures are not that ugly as I thought.

 

[jan777]

Have you guys watched that documentary about Wal Mart? It seems like that.
The workers sleep on that kind of dorm too, and they are obliged to pay rent even if they do use the room or not.

 

[Rydian]

Well they need to keep things sanitary. Peeling paint may not be pretty, but it's far preferable to toxic sludge.

 

[pcmanrules]

Better than I thought, but not great. I didn't even know they stayed on site.

 

[redact]

i have an iphone?!? o.O

 

[Infinite Zero]

Why do they need to live in the dorm?

 

[Depravo]

Not half as squalid as I would have imagined. Perhaps the reporter was only allowed access to the better areas.

 

[Rydian]

The factories are huge, and the company employs ~200,000 workers.

If you tried to get 200,000 workers in and out of a site every day, shit would happen... so they just live on-site.

 

[DjoeN]

And it's not only iPhone, it's alot more.

Think, most clothes, alot of other electronic devices, etc...

 

[mameks]

As people have said, it's no way near as bad as I thought it was going to be. Granted it's not great, but gizmodo tried to make it sound worse than it is.

i have an iphone?!? o.O

Also this.

 

[saxamo]

Conditions are almost facist. It is a product of our capitalist society. I urge you all to be educated consumers. Nobody is perfect, I have an iPod too. The important issue is to be aware of what is going on across the world. Where your clothes come from, where electronics are made. Make efforts to buy items manufactured in your country. Or even spend less at all. Use the GBATemp trading forum more. Buying second hand reduces labor and well allright i'm just ranting here. Great submission, Rydian.

 

[Ethevion]

Looks pretty bad. I'd hate to have to live like that. Unfortunately, most of them don't have a choice.

 

[Ritsuki]

Is it where they make our flashcards too ?

 

[_Chaz_]

That's really messed up.
While not the worst I've ever seen, you would think that with all the money made by their products, Foxconn could proved better living conditions for its workers.
You know it's bad when measures have to be taken due to an excess of suicides. I know they have to have competitive prices, but at what cost?

 

[DJ91990]

You see people? This is what all of these major corporations are using as a production teem! They are not hiring people that are trained and have a degree in Computer technology and Circuit assembly, they just pull some poor Chinese people off of the street and ask them if they would like a place to stay and a job. Then they train them with the simplest steps and then have them work like assembly machines. So the next time you see one of those Dell TV ADs know that like the cake, they are a LIE!

The Chinese government does not step in because the Chinese Government is communist. This is what Communism does to countries people! Also, if you don't like how China is running their country then don't complain or else they will run you over with a tank!

 

[Flame]

You see people? This is what all of these major corporations are using as a production teem! They are not hiring people that are trained and have a degree in Computer technology and Circuit assembly, they just pull some poor Chinese people off of the street and ask them if they would like a place to stay and a job. Then they train them with the simplest steps and then have them work like assembly machines. So the next time you see one of those Dell TV ADs know that like the cake, they are a LIE!

The Chinese government does not step in because the Chinese Government is communist. This is what Communism does to countries people! Also, if you don't like how China is running their country then don't complain or else they will run you over with a tank!

You High?

 

[bigllama99]

.

 

[Schizoanalysis]

The Chinese government does not step in because the Chinese Government is communist. This is what Communism does to countries people! Also, if you don't like how China is running their country then don't complain or else they will run you over with a tank!

You High?

Uh. Why would be be high? They did run people over with tanks (though it was a long time ago)...

 

[Rydian]

they just pull some poor Chinese people off of the street and ask them if they would like a place to stay and a job.

I'd rather have a place to stay that's warm and not lonely (with some TV to watch) and a guaranteed job than be living on the streets.