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While this is terrible, is it worse than say Apple who offshore much of their labor costs to places with far worse standards?
by collyw 9y ago
While this is terrible, is it worse than say Apple who offshore much of their labor costs to places with far worse standards?
- seanmcdirmid 9y agoApple only outsources (technically not offshoring, since it isn’t done in the same company) it’s manufacturing, almost all of its R&D is still done states side (better than Google or Microsoft, who have substantial overseas R&D operations, though not necessarily in low cost countries).
- lttlrck 9y agoDoes it need to be worse? Both need improvement.
- collyw 9y agoDid I say otherwise?
- tinus_hn 9y agoFor some reason it’s always things happening at the ‘Apple factory’ but in reality these are megafactories that produce the items sold by just about every consumer electronics company, like Sony, Nintendo, Microsoft, Logitech and many others.
- collyw 9y agoSue, but Apple are the most obvious example with definite examples of this.
- tryingagainbro 9y agoShould Apple provide US style standards and pay for labor in China?
- ori_b 9y agoDepends if you believe that safe work environments are human rights, or just for Americans.
- dreamfactored 9y agoStandards yes - these should match standards of countries they sell in (or even better take the high road and just match Europe). Chinese wages are on their way up anyway and if anything, improving standards will keep wage costs down as part of the package (and I strongly believe improved standards would improve productivity/quality to more than offset costs). It's win win. Bear in mind people are ready to queue up to pay a ton more for Apple on the basis that they strive to produce a better product on all dimensions - they are the poster child for quality across the board being a viable business approach. That should go consistently through the products and services like a stick of rock and include things like work conditions and green manufacturing.
- collyw 9y agoWe should be encouraging everyone to have decent working conditions.
- mikestew 9y agoWhile this is terrible Then we should probably stick to discussing what's terrible about this, and how to fix it. We can "what about" Apple in a later discussion.