Apple is not the only electronics company doing business within a troubling supply system. Current and former Apple executives, moreover, say the company has made significant strides in improving factories in recent years. Apple has a supplier code of conduct details standards on labor issues, safety protections and other topics. Suppliers would change everything tomorrow if Apple told them they didn’t have another choice.”
Apple was provided with extensive summaries of this article, but the company declined to comment. Factories in Chengdu manufacture products for hundreds of companies. Inside, workers were building Apple’s latest, potentially greatest product: the iPad.
Other companies had created codes of conduct to police their suppliers. It was time, Apple decided, to follow suit. Apple audited that factory, the company’s first such inspection, and ordered improvements. Those audits have found consistent violations of Apple’s code of conduct, according to summaries by the company. Last year, the company conducted 229 audits. Apple has found violations in hundreds of audits, but fewer than 15 suppliers have been terminated for transgressions since 2007, according to former Apple executives.
“Once the deal is set and Foxconn becomes an authorized Apple supplier, Apple will no longer give any attention to worker conditions or anything that is irrelevant to its products,” said Mr. Li, the former Foxconn manager. Apple’s efforts have spurred some changes. Then, Apple’s requests start.
Once again, aluminum dust was the cause, according to interviews and Apple’s most recent supplier responsibility report.
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