Its investigative series about how our electronic gadgets are made could be a contender
Aftermath of an explosion at an iPad factory in Chengdu, China
When monologist Mike Daisey flew to China to find out why the workers who assemble electronic devices for Apple (AAPL) -- and every other major U.S. manufacturer -- were jumping from the roofs of their factory-city dormitories, he was shocked to discover that most of the American reporters writing about the suicides had never visited the plants or talked to any of the workers. (See A harsh light on Apple's supply chain.)
Well that's changed. A few months ago, the New York Times assigned a team of reporters led by Charles Duhigg, Keith Bradsher and David Barboza to investigate the hundreds of Chinese companies that make our iPads and iPhones -- starting with Foxconn, the world's largest manufacturer of electronics components.
The first story in the series, How the U.S. Lost Out on iPhone Work, described an ecosystem of interlocking Asian component suppliers so vast, responsive and eager for the work that it was clear by the end that, as Steve Jobs reportedly told President Obama at a dinner last year, "Those jobs aren't coming back" to America.
The second piece in the series -- In China, Human Costs Are Built Into an iPad, published today -- makes it clear that Americans wouldn't want those jobs. It starts with the story of one Chinese worker fatally burned when an iPad polishing factory exploded last May and doesn't stop until it has explored every available report of unsafe or onerous working conditions in Apple's supply chain. Although it gives the company credit for trying to do something about it -- establishing a code of conduct, performing inspections, issuing annual compliance reports -- it quotes former and current Apple employees who question the company's commitment.
"We've had this conversation hundreds of times," a former executive in Apple's supplier responsibility group told the Times. "There is a genuine, companywide commitment to the code of conduct. But taking it to the next level and creating real change conflicts with secrecy and business goals, and so there's only so far we can go."
It's the kind of reporting that wins the New York Times Pulitzers year after year. But one of the things the prize committee looks for in a series like this is evidence that it's had an impact. That something has really changed.
That's going to be tough.
CapEx spending is up 9 fold in 3 years, the bulk on equipment for a few key suppliers
Data: Company reports via Bernstein. Chart: PED
When Apple (AAPL) reports an uptick in its cash and marketable securities holdings -- up $5.4 billion to $81.6 billion last quarter -- Bernstein's Toni Sacconaghi can usually be counted on to call for the company to return some of that cash to the shareholders (70% MORE
Philip Elmer-DeWitt - Nov 15, 2011 8:12 AM ET
Broke ground Saturday on a robotics research facility in Taiwan
Image: Honda.com
Here's one way to solve your labor problems.
Hon Hai Precision Industry, the company whose Foxconn division assembles most of the electronic products sold in the U.S. -- including Apple's (AAPL) iPhones and iPads -- broke ground Saturday on a new R&D unit in Taichung, central Taiwan.
"The investment marks the beginning of Hon Hai's bid to build an empire of MORE
Philip Elmer-DeWitt - Oct 31, 2011 8:36 AM ET
Three conspirators are fined and imprisoned for stealing Apple's secrets
MacTop
In early December, when the original iPad was a hot-selling Christmas gift and the iPad 2 was still a rumor, there appeared on the Internet colorful images of silicone iPad cases that didn't fit the current model. For one thing, they each had a hole in the back that could accommodate a rear-facing camera.
Was it a hoax, a guess or MORE
Philip Elmer-DeWitt - Jun 16, 2011 7:48 AM ET
But the world's largest electronics manufacturer is not complaining
iPad 2 disassembly. Photo: iFixit
Hon Hai chairman Terry Gou, whose Foxconn subsidiary does the final assembly on the lion's share of Apple's (AAPL) product line, addressed the growing disparity Wednesday between his profit margins and his client's.
Why did Apple's net income grow 70% in its last fiscal year while Hon Hai's rose less than 2%?
Because, he told investors at a shareholders MORE
Philip Elmer-DeWitt - Jun 9, 2011 6:57 AM ET
The explosion that killed three in Chengdu on Friday has been traced to a dust-collecting duct
Broken windows and twisted metal from the blast. Photo: M.I.C. Gadget
There were several developments over the weekend following the explosion that killed three and injured 15 in a factory in southwest China that builds iPads for Apple (AAPL). (See Inside the Apple iPad factory.)
The third death was confirmed. Six of the injured have been MORE
Philip Elmer-DeWitt - May 23, 2011 7:35 AM ET
Why did one of the world's fastest growing tech companies fall twice as fast as the market?
Boy. You leave town for one day and -- if you'll forgive an expression Elmore Leonard warns writers never to use -- all hell breaks loose.
Of course, with Japan's nuclear plants burning and the Dow dropping 242 points and change, you would expect Apple (AAPL) to take a hit. So some of its $15.42 MORE
Philip Elmer-DeWitt - Mar 17, 2011 7:18 AM ET
According to the Wall Street Journal, an unveiling is scheduled for March 2
[UPDATE: Reuters, citing an unnamed source "familiar with the matter," has retracted its report of an iPad 2 delay. The Loop's Jim Dalrymple, citing no sources, has declared both delay reports "not true." And All Things Digital's Kara Swisher has announced that Apple will hold an iPad 2 event on March 2. No source for that one either. MORE
Philip Elmer-DeWitt - Feb 22, 2011 8:09 AM ET
Also announces plans to increase its workforce in China to 1 million employees
Click for more photos. AP Photo/Kin Cheung
Thousands of workers at Foxconn's giant Shenzhen industrial park turned out Wednesday for what the company billed as a "Treasure Your Life, Love Your Family, Care for Each Other to Build a Wonderful Future" motivational event, but which the Western press quickly characterized as an anti-suicide rally.
Foxconn, a publicly traded subsidiary MORE
Philip Elmer-DeWitt - Aug 18, 2010 2:07 PM ET
A flurry of public relations activity in China after the ninth fatal fall this year
A Foxconn factory. Credit: REUTERS/James Pomfret
[UPDATE: A tenth Hon Hai employee -- a 23-year-old man -- jumped to his death from the seventh floor of a workers dormitory only hours after Hon Hai executives took journalists on an unprecedented tour of one of their plants and promised to outfit the dorms with safety nets.]
Terry Gou, MORE
Philip Elmer-DeWitt - May 26, 2010 7:15 AM ETEvery morning, discover the companies, deals and trends in tech that are moving markets and making headlines. SUBSCRIBE
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| Company | Price | Change | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bank of America Corp... | 7.95 | -0.16 | -1.97% |
| Intel Corp | 26.73 | -0.43 | -1.58% |
| Microsoft Corp | 31.27 | -0.17 | -0.54% |
| Ford Motor Co | 12.28 | -0.25 | -2.00% |
| General Electric Co | 19.39 | 0.17 | 0.88% |
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|---|---|---|---|
| Dow | 12,938.67 | -27.02 | -0.21% |
| Nasdaq | 2,933.17 | -15.40 | -0.52% |
| S&P 500 | 1,357.66 | -4.55 | -0.33% |
| Treasuries | 2.00 | -0.04 | -1.96% |
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