Apple has been accused recently of ignoring the abysmal condition of the labourers at the factories that produce Apple components at China and Taiwan. About to a New York Times article published recently, some sources have claimed that Apple has been in full knowledge of these things and yet have chose to ignore them. And now, we have an official response from Apple. Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, has categorically rejected these claims and has stated that Apple is working hard to bring all off-shore companies under the rules and regulations which Apple enacts for all Apple workers.
The New York article said that some former Apple executives had claimed that Apple knew well about the pathetic labour conditions in Foxconn facilities but had chosen to ignore them up. And that all Apple cared about was producing quality and decreasing production costs. Apple’s CEO, Tim Cook, who hasn’t been very vocal from Apple’s platform ever since he gained the key position, has chosen to let go of his aplomb on this one. Tim Cook sent an email to all Apple employees which categorically rejected all these claims and said that Apple treats all employees equally and that Apple was working very diligently to enact the best conditions in it’s off-shore manufacturers’ facilities.
Some of the key excerpts of the email are as follows:
“As a company and as individuals, we are defined by our values. Unfortunately some people are questioning Apple’s values today, and I’d like to address this with you directly. We care about every worker in our worldwide supply chain. Any accident is deeply troubling, and any issue with working conditions is cause for concern. Any suggestion that we don’t care is patently false and offensive to us. As you know better than anyone, accusations like these are contrary to our values. It’s not who we are. For the many hundreds of you who are based at our suppliers’ manufacturing sites around the world, or spend long stretches working there away from your families, I know you are as outraged by this as I am. For the people who aren’t as close to the supply chain, you have a right to know the facts.”
Tim responded critically to the claim that Apple has ignored the rights of it’s workers in off-shore facilities. He said,
“We will continue to dig deeper, and we will undoubtedly find more issues. What we will not do — and never have done — is stand still or turn a blind eye to problems in our supply chain. On this you have my word. You can follow our progress at apple.com/supplierresponsibility.”
When weighed against NYT’s article which states numerous anonymous sources, Tim’s word does carry weight.
Image courtesy igrec.
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