One company that has gotten attention for what they have done in the marketplace is the Chinese Company Foxconn. Part of Taiwan’s Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Foxconn is the world’s largest contract manufacture of electronics. Foxconn is led by their CEO Terry Gou who founded the company in 1974; Foxconn has a long list of big-name customers which includes Apple Inc., Sony Corp., Dell Inc., Nokia Corp. and Hewlett-Packard. While Foxconn has made its mark in the business world, they have been decimated in the court of public opinion.
The Taiwanese electronics company has been buffeted by an array of suicides at its China factories which has been attributed to employee morale. The most famous of these suicides was that of Sun Danyong who was allegedly beaten by supervisors leading to the taking of his life.
Besides the Danyoung suicide, at least nine other workers have killed themselves and three have attempted suicide at Foxconn’s operations in southern China this year, involving mainly workers who jumped from buildings. The most recent suicide attempt involved a 25-year-old man who slashed his wrists in the factory dormitory Thursday. One additional Foxconn worker in northern China also committed suicide this year and there has been a great deal of suspicion about many of these deaths.
Currently, the basic salary of Foxconn employees at the China plant is about 900 Yuan ($130) per month. In an attempt to lift employee morale, Foxconn intends to give pay raises which will average around 20 percent per worker.
One Foxconn official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he is not allowed to speak with the media was quoted as saying, “Feeling sad is contagious, and so is feeling happy. We hope the workers will have a positive attitude toward their lives.”
Currently, Foxconn is trading in the $8.44 range. The current news has swayed global investors but the company claims to make a better life for their workers and has a host of activity within their pipeline.
To learn more about Foxconn, visit their website at: www.Foxconn.com.
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