DeadLocked said:
Won't it cost them less to improve working conditions than it does in legal fees?!
And not only that, it would eliminate the controversy surrounding this.
So from apple's point of view it's a win, yes?
Firstly Foxconn is not an "Apple" company. they make stuff for pretty much every major consumer electronics company in the world.
Secondly it's not like Apple or other companies can simply move manufacturing even if it was to the point of employers whipping employees in Viking style ships and feeding them gruel like in Oliver Twist. The high volume, high quality merchandise that is made there can only be done in a small number of places in the entire world. Apple also doesn't have the luxury of having their own factories like Sony or Motorola does to manufacture goods. Since they have to outsource it, their options are pretty limited. And moving production at this point would be hugely disruptive and would cost them more in lost sales than any 'good will' gained.
There aren't many 'legal fees' associated with this anyways. Even if employees were jumping off the buildings onto floors with metal spikes on them by the truck load, they simply pay the family the stipend associated in their contract and go out to the huge line outside and pick 100 other people who want that job. There are no shortage of people who want to do this kind of work, espeically with the local agriculture being ravaged the way it is by the ecological disasters from actual unscrupulous factories that pump out toxic waste like it's 1920.
