The world’s largest electric component maker, Foxconn, makes waves as the producer of trendy gadgets like the iPad and the iPhone. Earlier this year, it made waves with quite an unusual trend—worker suicides. Over a five month period, a rash of 13 suicide attempts were made by employees of Foxconn’s Shenzhen based plant, resulting in 10 deaths. Suicide-prevention netting was installed and workers were asked to sign no-suicide pledges.
Foxconn came under scrutiny concerning its employment practices, with reports of long work hours and discrimination. As the largest employers in the region, the company has a significant social impact. From a strictly commercial standpoint, the impact of low worker morale and negative public image are worrisome for Foxconn. Even Milton Friedman can’t find anything wrong with the management rushing to improve worker wages.
Corporations, while being commercial enterprises remain a part of our society and can’t escape that obligation. Sweatshops are morally repulsive to all human beings and as such, should not exist. After all, sprawling numbers on spreadsheets do not have any tangible meaning for the ordinary citizen. Without ethics, corporations are cancerous moles, mindlessly expanding, unsightly, and potentially fatal—as the Foxconn workers know too well.
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