The cost of labor is only one factor in why a US corporation chooses to relocate or create jobs overseas. The labor cost in the US to produce a $1500 computer is about $25 per computer compared with about $9 in China. The difference appears miniscule, but it’s a serious factor. But there are more sinister reasons that help shape the decisions of CEOs to ship or create jobs overseas. Apple executives gave us one of those reasons.
“Apple executives say that going overseas, at this point, is their only option. One former executive described how the company relied upon a Chinese factory to revamp iPhone manufacturing just weeks before the device was due on shelves. Apple had redesigned the iPhone’s screen at the last minute, forcing an assembly line overhaul. New screens began arriving at the plant near midnight.
A foreman immediately roused 8,000 workers inside the company’s dormitories, according to the executive. Each employee was given a biscuit and a cup of tea, guided to a workstation and within half an hour started a 12-hour shift fitting glass screens into beveled frames. Within 96 hours, the plant was producing over 10,000 iPhones a day.”
In other words, slave labor is paramount in deciding when and if to move jobs overseas. Click the link below for the complete story.
