Apple Responds To Allegations Made In BBC Documentary - Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL)

The British news giant BBC recently released a documentary that revealed appalling working conditions at the Chinese factory Pegatron, one of the most prominent suppliers of Apple Inc. AAPL.

CNBC

’s Eunice Yoon reported on what Apple’s CEO Tim Cook had to say in response to the documentary.

The Situation

“The BBC investigation is making waves at Apple; the British news organization sent some of its reporters undercover to one of tech giant’s suppliers called Pegatron. Now, it says that they found labor conditions that breached the company’s standards: excessive working hours and cramped sleeping quarters for example. It also alleges that employers routinely force [employees] to work overtime, sometimes without proper pay, “ Yoon said.

Yoon continued, “Apple has faced similar charges in the past, the most prominent in 2010, when 14 workers at another major supplier called

Foxconn

committed suicide. Now, since then Apple has implemented a new set of standards for the treatment of the workers and says ‘no other company is doing as much as Apple to ensure fair and safe working condition.’”

Apple’s Response

One of Apple’s senior VP, Jeff Williams, "released a response to the documentary, saying, “Like many of you, Tim and I were deeply offended by the suggestion that Apple would break a promise to the workers in our supply chain or mislead our customers in any way.”

Yoon shared her experience of visiting some of these factories saying, “I haven’t been specifically to that factory. However, I have been in and out of a lot of the factories of Apple’s suppliers, so I am quite familiar with the supply-chain there and most of the workers [...] especially outside of say Foxconn’s factory, have told me that the jobs are actually quite well paying by local standards. Though the work is very repetitive, it’s very stressful because of they are making a highly specialized product.”

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