factory workers news stories on Newser

This American Life Retracts Foxconn Story

Evann Gastaldo — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 15:26:25 CDT

A compelling account of the abuses at Apple's China factories became This American Life 's most popular podcast ever, with 888,000 downloads, but now the radio show is retracting the story due to "significant fabrications." The 39-minute piece by monologuist Mike Daisey was excerpted from Daisey's one-man show, The...

Apple Proves It: Jobs 'Aren't Coming Back' to America

Neal Colgrass — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 17:19:23 CST

Last year, President Obama asked Steve Jobs whether iPhones could be made in the US instead of Asia. Jobs was blunt: “Those jobs aren’t coming back." The New York Times takes a long look at why. In short, Asia has a surplus of engineers and factory workers who work cheaply...

Report Blasts Safety at Apple's China Factories

Matt Cantor — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 11:55:10 CST

Chinese environmental groups say Apple hasn’t responded to health and pollution concerns at supplier factories. A report ranks 29 multinational tech companies on their responsiveness to inquiries about conditions at supplier factories; Apple comes in last, the Financial Times reports. The report cites Apple’s failure to respond to poisonings that...

Battered MAC Cancels Tasteless Juarez Line

Evann Gastaldo — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 11:10:37 CDT

First it apologized. Then it said it wouldn't sell its "Juarez" line in Mexico. Now, more than a month after MAC created quite a stir by partnering with Rodarte on products with names like "Factory" and "Ghost Town," some of which basically looked like blood , it's decided to cancel the...

9th Apple Plant Worker Commits Suicide

Jane Yager — Mon, 17 May 2010 05:38:10 CDT

A 21-year-old man who jumped out a window to his death Saturday marks the ninth suicide of a worker at Foxconn, the Taiwanese-owned manufacturer of iPhones and iPods. The deaths of young employees—combined with the fact that the company says it has prevented some 30 suicides in the past...

Plastics Chemical Linked to Male Sex Problems

Harry Kimball — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 12:52:07 CST

A study of workers exposed to high levels of bisphenol A—a chemical widely used in plastic bottles and packaging—have a much higher incidence of sexual dysfunction than their counterparts. The study of Chinese workers found those exposed to BPA were 4 times more likely to report erectile dysfunction...