A spate of worker suicides at Foxconn City in 2010 exposed labor conditions at one of the world's largest electronics manufacturers, prompting investigations by Apple and HP.
Key Facts
- Location
- Foxconn City industrial park, Shenzhen, China
- Time period
- 2010 and early 2010s
- Company implicated
- Foxconn, one of world's largest contract electronics makers
- Customers who investigated
- Apple and Hewlett-Packard (HP)
- Cited causes
- Low pay and brutal working conditions
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Workers at Foxconn City in Shenzhen, China, endured reported low wages and harsh working conditions at the massive industrial complex operated by Foxconn, one of the world's largest contract electronics manufacturers, supplying major technology companies including Apple and HP.
A series of suicides occurred at Foxconn City beginning in 2010, with additional deaths reported at other Foxconn-owned facilities across mainland China in the early 2010s. The incidents attracted widespread press coverage and international scrutiny of employment practices within the global electronics supply chain.
The suicides prompted several of Foxconn's major customers, including Apple and Hewlett-Packard, to investigate labor and employment practices at Foxconn facilities. The incidents became a prominent case study in debates about working conditions, corporate responsibility, and supply chain ethics in the global technology industry.