no love going into their jobs.  Employee function as slave laborers.  Foxconn's response is to prepare a hold harmless contract.  Forcing employees to sign a contract that their families won't sue them if they commit suicide.



Foxconn suicides

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The Foxconn suicides occurred between January and November 2010, when eighteen[1] Foxconn employees attempted suicide with fourteen deaths.[1][2][3] The suicides drew media attention, and employment practices at Foxconn, a large contract manufacturer, were investigated by several of its customers including Apple and HP, fearing bad press of their own.[4] Foxconn is a major manufacturer catering to companies such as Apple, Dell, HP, Motorola, Nintendo, Sony and Nokia.[4]

The suicides prompted 20 Chinese universities to compile a report on Foxconn, which they decried as a labour camp.[2] Other experts have claimed that employees are treated comparatively well at Foxconn,[5] but news reports have been critical. Long working hours,[5] discrimination of mainland Chinese workers by their Taiwanese coworkers,[6] and a lack of working relationships[7] have all been cited as potential causes.

The suicide rate at Foxconn during the suicide spate remained lower than that of the general Chinese population,[8] as well as all 50 states in the United States.[9][10] Additionally the Foxconn deaths may have been a product of economic conditions external to the company. In China in 2010 there were several major strike actions at other high-profile manufacturers in China, and the Lewisian turning-point is a macro-economic factor that may provide context for the events.[11]

In response to the suicides, Foxconn substantially increased wages for its Shenzhen factory workforce,[12] installed suicide-prevention netting,[13] and asked employees to sign no-suicide pledges.[14] Workers were also forced to sign a legally binding document guaranteeing that they and their descendants would not sue the company as a result of unexpected death, self-injury, or suicide.[15]


Suicides

Although the number of suicides at the company is large in absolute terms, the suicide rate is still low compared to the rest of China[8] although the country has a high suicide rate with over 20 deaths per 100,000 persons.[16] In 2010, Foxconn's worst year for suicides with a total of 14 deaths, their total employee count was 930,000 people.[17] The suicide rate for Foxconn that year was 1.5 per 100,000 making it well below the national average (around 7% of the national average). Even when calculated as if all the employee deaths were from the Shenzhen factory complex alone (to simulate a localised area suicide rate), which in 2010 had a workforce of 450,000,[17] the rate is still well below the national average at 3.11 per 100,000 (around 14% the national average).

Pre-2010

While the 2010 incidents were remarkable for their extent, the company has suffered other employee suicides as well.

English name Chinese name Gender Age Suicide attempt date Description Status
Ms. Hou Unknown; Family name: 侯 Female 19 18 Jun 2007 Hanged herself in a company bathroom. Investigators ruled the death to be a suicide.[18][19] died
Sun Dan-yong 孙丹勇 Male 25 16 Jul 2009 Fell from apartment building[20] after losing an iPhone prototype in his possession.[21] Prior to death, he claimed he was beaten and his residence searched by Foxconn employees.[21] died

2010

An estimate of eighteen Foxconn employees attempted suicide in 2010,[1] with a minimum of fourteen deaths.[1][2][3]

English name Chinese name Gender Age Suicide attempt date Description Status
Ma Xiang-qian 马向前[22] Male 19 23 Jan 2010 Fell from building[23] Unknown
Mr. Li Unknown; Family name: 李[22] Male 20+ 11 Mar 2010 Fell from building[24] unknown
Tian Yu 田玉[22] Female 17 17 Mar 2010 Fell from building[24] Paralyzed from waist down[1]
Mr. Lau Unknown; Family name: 刘[22] Male 23 29 Mar 2010 Fell from building[24] unknown
Rao Shu-qin 饶淑琴 Female 19 06 Apr 2010 Fell from building[24]
Ms. Ling Unknown; Family name: 宁 Female 18 07 Apr 2010 Fell from building.[24] unknown
Lu Xin 卢新[22] Male 24 6 May 2010 Fell from building[24] died[25]
Zhu Chen-ming 祝晨明[22] Female 24 11 May 2010 Fell from building[26] Unknown
Liang Chao 梁超[22] Male 21 14 May 2010 Fell from building[27] Unknown
Nan Gan 南刚[22] Male 21 21 May 2010 Fell from building[28] Unknown
Li Hai 李海 Male 19 25 May 2010 Fell from building[29] died
Mr. He Unknown; Family name: 贺[22] Male 23 26 May 2010 Fell from building[30] unknown
Mr. Chen Unknown; Family name: 陈[22] Male 25 27 May 2010 Suicide died[22]
Mr. Liu Unknown; Family name: 刘 Male 18 20 Jul 2010 Fell from the sixth floor of a dormitory building[31][32] died[32]
Unknown Unknown Male 23[33] 05 Nov 2010 Fell from building[34][35] died[35]

2011

English name Chinese name Gender Age Suicide attempt date Description Status
Wang Ling Unknown Female 25 7 Jan 2011 Jumped from building after being sent to a psychiatric hospital died[36]
Unknown Unknown Male 20 26 May 2011 Fell from building. Died in Deyuan town, Chengdu (possibly in Pi County) died[37]
Mr. Cai Unknown; Family name: 蔡 Male 21[38] July 2011[39] Fell from building at Shenzhen plant.[39] died
Li Rongying Unknown Female 20 23 November 2011 Fell from building died[40]

2012

English name Chinese name Gender Age Suicide attempt date Description Status
Unknown Unknown male 23 14, June, 2012 Fell from building died[41]

Report

An 83 page report detailing the Foxconn suicides and labor conditions was produced by 20 universities in Hong Kong, Taiwan and mainland China.[2] Interviews of 1,800 Foxconn workers at 12 factories found evidence of illegal overtime and failure to report accidents.[2] The report also criticized Foxconn's management style, which it called inhumane and abusive.[2]

A Hong Kong-based non-profit organization, Students & Scholars Against Corporate Misbehaviour, also produced a report on Foxconn employee mistreatment.[42