• College Students Forced to Make the Playstation 4
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[URL]http://kotaku.com/errr-so-this-isnt-really-a-forced-to-make-ps4s-situa-1443357288[/URL] [quote]While the PlayStation 3 was originally produced in Japan, Sony now outsources its hardware assembling to the Asian electronics mega-manufacturer Foxconn. So, the PlayStation 4 is being made in China. And according to reports, thousands of college students were forced to manufacture it. P Shanghai's Dongfang Daily (via China.com) reports that "thousands" of students from Xi'an Technological University worked at Foxconn's plant in the coastal Chinese city of Yantai as part of a work-study program that lasted from August to this October.P Chinese news reports state that the program was mandatory, and if they students did not participate, they would not receive their diploma. Some students said that leaving the program early would even cost them six college credits.P According to the students, they were given tasks and jobs that were unrelated to their majors or fields of study. Apparently, they also did manual labor.P China.com reports that student Wang Yiran said the program was a must for seniors and if it wasn't completed, regular fourth-year classes would not commence. First year and second year students, however, were also apparently in the program. According to Wang (via TechInAsia), she and her friends were put on the PS4 line, doing menial tasks all day long like removing the console's protective film and putting stickers on the machines.P "It's like being a robot," said Wang. Standing all day made her feet swollen, and she complained about the noisy factory floor.1P Wang said the schedule was tough: Apparently, the students were working eleven hours a day—longer if there was overtime. Wang said there was a thirty-minute break at lunch, and there was a ten-minute break in the morning.P Another student, Li Xinzhou agreed with Wang, saying that he was forced to put PS4 manuals and cables inside the console's packaging as well as move and carry boxes. A couple students supposedly fainted.P [img]http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/192r27dckqy46jpg/ku-xlarge.jpg[/img] The above photo, which reportedly shows college kids walking to the Yantai factory, is circulating on Chinese news sites.P Parents, China.com notes, were not happy and wondered why their kids had to go all the way to Yantai just to do manual labor.P Foxconn is refuting these latest allegations. Kotaku is following up with Sony and will update this article should the company comment. Update: Foxconn told website Quartz (via TechInAsia) that an internal investigation revealed that the students were given night shifts and overtime. Both are violation of the company's policies. "Immediate actions have been taken to bring that campus into full compliance with our code and policies," said Foxconn. The company added that it was "reinforcing the policies of no overtime and no night shifts for student interns, even though such work is voluntary, and reminding all interns of their rights to terminate their participation in the program at any time."[/quote]
Gotta love Foxconn. But this doesn't matter. People will never give up their Apple products and the PS4 is going to be a huge success.
So can anybody clear up why you hear about this shit from Foxconn all the time, but nothing is ever done about it? Are there no laws/policies/regulations/unions or anything? (feelin' pretty uneducated right about now) I guess this is the only way Sony can keep manufacturing cheap enough to sell the console at a good price.
[QUOTE=whatthe;42483534]So can anybody clear up why you hear about this shit from Foxconn all the time, but nothing is ever done about it? Are there no laws/policies/regulations/unions or anything? (feelin' pretty uneducated right about now) I guess this is the only way Sony can keep manufacturing cheap enough to sell the console at a good price.[/QUOTE] work ethics that outlaws sweatshops in china? haha
Sony is going with Foxconn too? Sheesh, between the Wii U, 3DS, and PS4 they're pretty well off.
Agoat, I hope you're not trying to put the Xbox on a moral pedestal here by saying that the PS4 is being made in China, because the Xbox has been being China manufactured since Day 1. Anyway, we're missing the real point here: The issue is that the university they're going to is withholding their diplomas if they don't participate in "voluntary" internships at Foxconn - A good amount of which they'll be doing things utterly unrelated to the fields they are studying in. Also, I smell a faint scent of kickbacks from Foxconn in this matter...
[QUOTE=certified;42483734]Agoat, I hope you're not trying to put the Xbox on a moral pedestal here by saying that the PS4 is being made in China, because the Xbox has been being China manufactured since Day 1.[/QUOTE] I'm sharing news. Don't try to start shit.
[QUOTE=certified;42483734]Agoat, I hope you're not trying to put the Xbox on a moral pedestal here by saying that the PS4 is being made in China, because the Xbox has been being China manufactured since Day 1. Anyway, we're missing the real point here: The issue is that the university they're going to is withholding their diplomas if they don't participate in "voluntary" internships at Foxconn - A good amount of which they'll be doing things utterly unrelated to the fields they are studying in. Also, I smell a faint scent of kickbacks from Foxconn in this matter...[/QUOTE] Bad news about ps4, must be trying to start shit
Why does every paragraph end with P
[QUOTE=meppers;42484277]Why does every paragraph end with P[/QUOTE] What are you talking about?P
[QUOTE=whatthe;42483534]So can anybody clear up why you hear about this shit from Foxconn all the time, but nothing is ever done about it? Are there no laws/policies/regulations/unions or anything? (feelin' pretty uneducated right about now) I guess this is the only way Sony can keep manufacturing cheap enough to sell the console at a good price.[/QUOTE] China is basically more of a corporate wonderland than the US ever could dream to be. They're the ones that set the laws.
[QUOTE=Warriorx4;42484371]What are you talking about?P[/QUOTE] Excuse me, all of the information is in the article. If you're not here for serious discussion, please leave.P
[QUOTE=meppers;42484277]Why does every paragraph end with P[/QUOTE] Every paragraph ends with a one eyed emoji showing its tongue.P
[QUOTE=barttool;42484487]Every paragraph ends with a one eyed emoji showing its tongue.P[/QUOTE] Please treat the issue seriously.P
Don't know what to feel about this besides disgusted. But yeah I already do know they've been doing things related to this with Apple products and for other companies like every day, it's not a great feeling to see this. But it's better to know the truth, right.
This is the same place that put up suicide nets to prevent their workers from jumping off the roofs, by the way.
P means "new paragraph" but yeah. its hard to enjoy technology knowing these are the conditions in which these electronics are manufactured. [editline]10th October 2013[/editline] foxconn is horrifying as much as it is fascinating to me.
Once I get this stupid Foxconn motherboard out of my prebuilt when I gut it I'm burning the damn thing It's a shame so many companies have to use stuff made by these places, just because other non-awful alternatives are too expensive or can't produce fast enough to meet demands This is the only instance where I would prefer if the entire workforce being forced to work there, or at least all but the quality checkers were replaced by robots
[QUOTE=SuperDuperScoot;42485035]Once I get this stupid Foxconn motherboard out of my prebuilt when I gut it I'm burning the damn thing It's a shame so many companies have to use stuff made by these places, just because other non-awful alternatives are too expensive or can't produce fast enough to meet demands This is the only instance where I would prefer if the entire workforce being forced to work there, or at least all but the quality checkers were replaced by robots[/QUOTE] designing robots to manufacture electronics is more expensive than just paying somebody next to nothing to do it, which is why it's like this.
[QUOTE=sloppy_joes;42485049]designing robots to manufacture electronics is more expensive than just paying somebody next to nothing to do it, which is why it's like this.[/QUOTE] Oh, right. There goes my mind on a track of unrealistic optimism where it doesn't belong. Sorry.
Microsoft is also using Foxconn for the Xbox One
[QUOTE=Flarey;42486266]Microsoft is also using Foxconn for the Xbox One[/QUOTE] It's impossible to have electronics manufactured on a large scale without Foxconn being involved.
[QUOTE=whatthe;42483534]Are there no laws/policies/regulations/unions or anything? (feelin' pretty uneducated right about now) [/QUOTE] Nothing can be done about it, because it's China. We're talking about a country where non-conformance or questioning authority puts you in serious peril; where you can get arrested for criticizing the government on the Internet or gathering in too large numbers on the streets. And it's hard for the western governments to do anything about it because we want to maintain good relations with the guy who makes our stuff, and China is pretty adamant about not having foreigners meddle with their affairs. "Shut up and mind your own business" has basically been their sentiment every time someone as much as mentions human rights in the same sentence as "China". A workers union with any significant degree of power to change things is simply impossible. [editline]11th October 2013[/editline] Without Foxconn (and similar corporations using cheap labor) our prices of pretty much all electronics would be much higher. The reason smartphones has become so accessible and ubiquitous is partly because manufacturing prices has been kept low thanks to the use of borderline-slave labor in countries where health & safety (and human rights) are taken less seriously. Electronics production could be moved to countries with better health and safety regulations, but that would lead to the prices skyrocketing. It's either accept much higher prices or keep using cheap labor. I think we all know what "the market" ultimately prefers.
Why do they mention PS4? Foxconn chips are in almost every smartphone and other media devices, I wouldn't be suprised if the XboxOne has a chip with Foxconn written on it in there.
[QUOTE=Lf751;42486380]Why do they mention PS4? Foxconn chips are in almost every smartphone and other media devices, I wouldn't be suprised if the XboxOne has a chip with Foxconn written on it in there.[/QUOTE] I guess in this particular case the students were put to work specifically because the manufacturer had a PS4 deadline to meet and needed extra labor fast.
[QUOTE=SuperDuperScoot;42485035]Once I get this stupid Foxconn motherboard out of my prebuilt when I gut it I'm burning the damn thing[/QUOTE] You should probably burn your new one too since that will also have been made at foxconn.
I don't think i have ever seen anything electrical without a part made by foxconn in.
[QUOTE=Van-man;42486286]It's impossible to have electronics manufactured on a large scale without Foxconn being involved.[/QUOTE] It's not impossible, it's just that the few alternatives are just as bad.
[QUOTE=whatthe;42483534]So can anybody clear up why you hear about this shit from Foxconn all the time, but nothing is ever done about it? Are there no laws/policies/regulations/unions or anything? (feelin' pretty uneducated right about now) I guess this is the only way Sony can keep manufacturing cheap enough to sell the console at a good price.[/QUOTE] Foxconn is a huge electronics manufacturing giant. They produce electronic components for just about everything we use on a daily basis. I'm not lying when I say that you could probably find at least two or three things in your own home that have some part of it assembled by Foxconn. Whether it be motherboards or microwaves. Hell, you could prolly disassemble a television remote and find the PCB and such was made by Foxconn. It's such a massive entity that it can essentially get away with enslaving its workers. If I remember right there was a huge issue a few years ago where suicidal works were jumping from the roofs of the factory so instead of the company changing its work policies or hiring mental health specialists they instead installed netting to catch these people so they'd continue working.
[QUOTE=wraithcat;42484432]China is basically more of a corporate wonderland than the US ever could dream to be. They're the ones that set the laws.[/QUOTE] pretty much this, and people actually try to refer to china as communist :v:
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