Marketplace Shanghai Bureau Chief Rob Schmitz was recently given the opportunity to see how Foxconn builds iPads for Apple. He is only the second journalist to be allowed to visit Shenzhen’s Longhua factory floor. The video below gives us a short glimpse at some of the assembly process as well as the lives of the some 240,000 people who work at this facility.
The working conditions at such factories have been the topic of conversation for some time now. Recent investigations by the Fair Labor Association recently identified safety violations and illegal overtime issues. Foxconn responded quickly and promised to hire additional workers and improve working conditions. Both companies are likely hoping that the video, likely closely screened by both, will also help quiet these concerns.
One thing struck me: The amount of manual labour that still goes in to building our electronic toys…
Read more: Marketplace