Items tagged with quanta
A 2013 audit of working conditions at Quanta Computers, a Chinese supplier of Apple products, pointed out various working violations at two factories in China, including excessive overtime and unpaid sick days, among others. Apple has been working with Quanta to address those violations, and to its credit, the Cupertino outfit has made strides in how things are done overseas. "Excessive overtime is not in anyone's best interest, and we will continue to work closely with Quanta and our other suppliers to prevent," Apple said in a statement. "This year, through the end of July, Quanta has average 86 percent compliance with our 60-hour workweek." Image Source: Flickr (Annette Bernhardt) Apple and...
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Apple recently took a PR hammering after the New York Times published a report claiming that labor conditions at the company's Chinese partner Foxconn continued to be poor--and that Apple knew about it and chose to do nothing. CEO Tim Cook blasted the allegations at the time, but has followed up nonetheless. Apple announced today that the Fair Labor Association will conduct "special, voluntary audits" of Foxconn facilities in Shenzhen and Chengdu. Unlike the suicides of 2009-2010, the recent accusations of poor monitoring relate to aluminum dust explosions at two Foxconn factories in May and December of 2011. Such risks are a known manufacturing hazard, and are seen as something which Apple,...
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Quanta Computer. You may have never heard of them. You've probably never visited their website. You've definitely never seen an advertisement for their company on the television. So why are they so important? They're the contract notebook computer maker for some of the world's biggest laptop brands, including Hewlett-Packard, Dell and Sony. So every notebook that you see from Dell, HP or Sony was actually build in the same factory (or set of factories). That's pretty wild, but it's true. Investors and economists play close attention to what happens at Quanta, even though most consumers could not care less. The reason? Quanta's total shipments are often good indicators of how business is doing...
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Never heard of Quanta Computer? Can't blame you. They don't put their own nameplate on the laptop computers they build in Taiwan. They manufacture units for most all major computer vendors, so if you've got a Dell or an HP in your lap, for instance, the chances are pretty good that Quanta made it, or one just like it. They even make the One Laptop Per Child Foundation's laptop. Since they serve so many masters, their sales outlook is useful in gauging worldwide demand for laptops in general. The company has factored in the shaky global economy to its 2008 laptop shipment forecast, Leung said. "It looks like there will be some impact on the notebook market in the U.S., but Europe and other areas...
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