5 ms·

Nobody is surprised about Foxconn breaking any kind of law. I worked with them directly at a customs agency's software department. During our 6 month integratio

Nobody is surprised about Foxconn breaking any kind of law. I worked with them directly at a customs agency's software department. During our 6 month integration project, Foxconn caused the resignation of one senior developer and one software specialist. They basically wanted to use our systems to store their private data and gradually demanded that we act like their entire ERP "OR NO DEAL". We ended up finally standing our ground and only did customs integrations and they built an actual IT team instead of using us as their own IT team.

simonh 7y ago
It's not just Foxconn, I have friends in China that work with Chinese tech companies and they're pretty much all the same. They'll squeeze every last inch of advantage they can get out of any business deal and push things right up to, or beyond the brink of a breakdown in relations. It's utterly cutthroat. I have family over there as well, my wife is Chinese, but those connections are up north. She has an uncle who was a mining company executive, I can't talk about him it's too dangerous. Really.
- joosters 7y ago
  She has an uncle who was a mining company executive, I can't talk about him it's too dangerous. Really. Then why talk about him?
  - jessicalondon 7y ago
    Humble bragging est' 1983.
  - selimthegrim 7y ago
    Probably just using the past tense is enough to hint that he is dead or no longer in that line of work
- blarg1 7y ago
  Here in Australia I've heard people complain about selling houses to the Chinese (I believe mainlanders), where they would buy the property but before handing over the money they would drag their feet and demand repairs, additions etc to the house. Most people would give in since they would be in the middle of purchasing a new house and needed the money right then, and going through court or whatever would take too long.
  - AndriyKunitsyn 7y ago
    I find it hard to believe, to be honest. Aren't there any ways in Australia to make selling of a house "atomic", with ownership transferred the same moment the money are transferred? Or they just move there without having ownership?
    - MiddleEndian 7y ago
      I have no comment on the prevalence of this behavior, but I don't think it would be impossible. There's multiple levels of agreement (offer, purchase and sale, closing), many of which are conditional, and if a buyer backs out late in the process it can put your property back on the market for a long time and lower its price due to real estate magic, plus you could lose the new property. Selling my home to buy another while holding a full time job while my real furniture was in storage and replaced by staged furniture was one of the most exhausting things I've ever done in my life.
      - gruez 7y ago
        >if a buyer backs out late in the process it can put your property back on the market for a long time and lower its price due to real estate magic, plus you could lose the new property Sounds like something covered by tort law.
        MiddleEndian 7y ago
        Hopefully one would be able to sue and reclaim the costs of the renovations afterwards. But I have little knowledge in that area, especially in Australia. I was only commenting on how the situation was not atomic and how such a scam could happen in the first place.
- cowfart 7y ago
  You realize that Foxconn is a Taiwanese company, right? In fact, the owner/ founder is currently running for president in Taiwan...
navigatesol 7y ago
>Nobody is surprised about Foxconn breaking any kind of law. I don't think anyone is surprised about Apple breaking labour laws, either.
- notimetorelax 7y ago
  FWIW I heard that Apple FTEs are also expected to be reachable all kinds of hours. Those who try to have some sense of life outside work get dinged in ratings. If this is how Apple treats its employees why would they care about some overtime at Foxconn?
  - kyralis 7y ago
    While it's possible that there are specific positions where this is a requirement, it is absolutely not a general requirement in SWE (Apple's Software Engineering group).
TomMarius 7y ago
Doesn't sound like breaking laws if you agreed

simonh 7y ago

It's not just Foxconn, I have friends in China that work with Chinese tech companies and they're pretty much all the same. They'll squeeze every last inch of advantage they can get out of any business deal and push things right up to, or beyond the brink of a breakdown in relations. It's utterly cutthroat. I have family over there as well, my wife is Chinese, but those connections are up north. She has an uncle who was a mining company executive, I can't talk about him it's too dangerous. Really.

joosters 7y ago
She has an uncle who was a mining company executive, I can't talk about him it's too dangerous. Really. Then why talk about him?
- jessicalondon 7y ago
  Humble bragging est' 1983.
- selimthegrim 7y ago
  Probably just using the past tense is enough to hint that he is dead or no longer in that line of work
blarg1 7y ago
Here in Australia I've heard people complain about selling houses to the Chinese (I believe mainlanders), where they would buy the property but before handing over the money they would drag their feet and demand repairs, additions etc to the house. Most people would give in since they would be in the middle of purchasing a new house and needed the money right then, and going through court or whatever would take too long.
- AndriyKunitsyn 7y ago
  I find it hard to believe, to be honest. Aren't there any ways in Australia to make selling of a house "atomic", with ownership transferred the same moment the money are transferred? Or they just move there without having ownership?
  - MiddleEndian 7y ago
    I have no comment on the prevalence of this behavior, but I don't think it would be impossible. There's multiple levels of agreement (offer, purchase and sale, closing), many of which are conditional, and if a buyer backs out late in the process it can put your property back on the market for a long time and lower its price due to real estate magic, plus you could lose the new property. Selling my home to buy another while holding a full time job while my real furniture was in storage and replaced by staged furniture was one of the most exhausting things I've ever done in my life.
    - gruez 7y ago
      >if a buyer backs out late in the process it can put your property back on the market for a long time and lower its price due to real estate magic, plus you could lose the new property Sounds like something covered by tort law.
      - MiddleEndian 7y ago
        Hopefully one would be able to sue and reclaim the costs of the renovations afterwards. But I have little knowledge in that area, especially in Australia. I was only commenting on how the situation was not atomic and how such a scam could happen in the first place.
cowfart 7y ago
You realize that Foxconn is a Taiwanese company, right? In fact, the owner/ founder is currently running for president in Taiwan...

navigatesol 7y ago

>Nobody is surprised about Foxconn breaking any kind of law. I don't think anyone is surprised about Apple breaking labour laws, either.

notimetorelax 7y ago
FWIW I heard that Apple FTEs are also expected to be reachable all kinds of hours. Those who try to have some sense of life outside work get dinged in ratings. If this is how Apple treats its employees why would they care about some overtime at Foxconn?
- kyralis 7y ago
  While it's possible that there are specific positions where this is a requirement, it is absolutely not a general requirement in SWE (Apple's Software Engineering group).

TomMarius 7y ago

Doesn't sound like breaking laws if you agreed