As suicides mount, Foxconn brings the shrinks

The factory where Apple’s iPhone is assembled has seen a cluster of suicides over the last year with dozens of attempts and 7 confirmed cases of workers taking their own lives. In all, nine people are believed to have died by their own hands and, now, their employer has deployed a company of counselors to stem this deadly tide.

Bloomberg (via BusinessWeek) reports that Foxconn (a.k.a. Hon Hai) has put 100 counselors in its facilities in China in order bring under control a cluster of suicides. Further, the company is ramping up worker healthcare and recreation initiatives in order to cope with the problem, which has seen seven confirmed and a two suspected suicides over the last year.

“Recently, there’s been a series of unfortunate events at Foxconn,” Hon Hai said in a May 12 statement. “Although the events aren’t closely connected to the operations and management of Foxconn, we hope to improve our management and increase mental-health counseling.”

According to Bloomberg, this suicide cluster started with Sun Tanyong (25) who took his own life after one of the 16 iPhone prototypes he was charged with shipping went missing, a series of events that captured headlines around the world due at least in part to Hon Hai’s heavy-handed approach to worker management and security. It had been whispered that Sun had been thrown and did not jump from the balcony of his apartment.

“I believe Foxconn’s management is one of the strictest in China,” Li Qiang, executive director, China Labor Watch in New York. The Foxconn incidents “can be said to be part of a wider problem in China, with quite a few factories suffering similar problems from time to time.”

Thereupon, Geoffrey Crothall, communications director, China Labour Bulletin in Hong Kong says, “It’s not just related to Foxconn. There’s a lot of pressure on young workers in factories all over China. Very few people pay attention to other factories, Foxconn is always in the spotlight, largely because of its relationship to Apple.”

Yes, Foxconn gets more attention because of its relationship with Apple — there’s no question about that. Nevertheless, as the world’s biggest OEM manufacturer and an extremely profitable company, they should be held to higher standard and should set the example for others to follow, right Apple?

What’s your take?

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