It is no secret that Apple isn¡¯t the one that manufacturers its products. Whether it is iPhones, Macs or iPads, they¡¯re all manufactured by companies like Foxconn, Pegatron, Wistron and others.?
However now, Apple has announced that it will be suspending its business with Pegatron.
First reported by the New York Times, this comes right after Apple discovered the labour violations on Pegatron¡¯s student workers program. Apple discovered that the Pegatron facility in Shanghai misclassified student workers, asking them to work that was not related to their major. This included making students work night shifts as well as overtime. These actions are in clear violation of Apple¡¯s Supplier Code of Conduct.
An Apple spokesperson said in a statement, "Apple has placed Pegatron on probation and Pegatron will not receive any new business from Apple until they complete all of the corrective actions required. The individuals at Pegatron responsible for the violations went to extraordinary lengths to evade our oversight mechanisms."?
Apple further stated that Pegatron has also gone ahead and fired the manager who was responsible for this as well as assured Apple that they¡¯ve sent students back to their homes while also offering compensation. Apple however has stated that it didn¡¯t find any evidence for forced labour.?
Apple faced a similar situation in 2018 where FT reported that a factory in China dubbed Taiwanese Quanta Computers who was forcing students to work to meet their deadlines for the then-new Apple Watch by finding loopholes in its labour laws.?We saw something similar happen at facilities at Foxconn last year, where students were forced to manufacture Alexa devices in a similar fashion.?
According to Bloomberg, this misstep by Pegatron could result in a new rival in gaining Apple¡¯s lucrative spot -- Luxshare, which as per the report could be the first company in China to be tasked with building the new smartphones.