Thursday, January 26, 2012

THE SHAMEFUL EFFECTS OF PURE GREED - APPLE


The end of the article reads:

“You can either manufacture in comfortable, worker-friendly factories, or you can reinvent the product every year, and make it better and faster and cheaper, which requires factories that seem harsh by American standards,” said a current Apple executive. 

“And right now, customers care more about a new iPhone than working conditions in China.” 

Enough said. Shame on Apple and everyone who turns a blind eye to these types of practices in pursuit of a toy. 
I'm reading the New York Times article about Apple and I'm just sick to my stomach. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/26/business/ieconomy-apples-ipad-and-the-human-costs-for-workers-in-china.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1

So much of what I read is familiar - although extreme. Have suppliers clamoring to work with you, take apart their financials so you know actual cost and then allow a minimum profit. It's the new American way... and we reward these companies with tax breaks. Maybe this time - because the story is about the iconic American company, Apple - the country will understand what is happening and what they are complicit in.

Yes, there is such a thing as too much profit if that profit comes from these types of practices. Here's a short blurb from the article. You have to read it for yourself.

"Apple typically asks suppliers to specify how much every part costs, how many workers are needed and the size of their salaries. Executives want to know every financial detail. Afterward, Apple calculates how much it will pay for a part. Most suppliers are allowed only the slimmest of profits. 

So suppliers often try to cut corners, replace expensive chemicals with less costly alternatives, or push their employees to work faster and longer, according to people at those companies. 

'The only way you make money working for Apple is figuring out how to do things more efficiently or cheaper,' said an executive at one company that helped bring the iPad to market. 'And then they’ll come back the next year, and force a 10 percent price cut.'" 

We are a better country. We are a better people than this.