Foxconn suicides

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.^[4] Foxconn is a major manufacturer catering to famous-name brands including Apple, Dell, HP, Motorola, Nintendo, Sony and Nokia.^[4][5]

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,^[6] but news reports have been critical. Long working hours,^[6] discrimination of mainland Chinese workers by their Taiwanese coworkers,^[7] and a lack of working relationships^[8] have all been cited as potential causes.

The Foxconn deaths may have been a product of economic conditions in China during 2010. These conditions also led to several major strike actions at high-profile manufacturers in China. The Lewisian turning-point and the decline in the surplus Chinese labour-pool are two potential macro-economic factors.^[9][10] The number of suicides is still less than half of the national rate^[11], and that the payment of a life insurance and pension^[12] may have also been a factor.

In response, Foxconn substantially increased wages for its southern China workforce,^[13][14] installed suicide-prevention netting,^[15] and asked employees to sign no-suicide pledges.^[6][16]

Contents 1 Suicides 1.1 Pre-2010 1.2 2010 1.3 2011 2 Report 3 In the media 4 See also 5 References

Suicides

It should be noted that the national average for suicide rates in China is 13.9 per 100,000. With over 800,000 employees, FoxConn's suicide count is actually much lower than would normally be expected, a fact that goes largely unreported.

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
Hou !Ms. Hou	侯 !姓侯	Female	19	18 Jun 2007	Hanged herself in a company bathroom. Investigators ruled the death to be a suicide.[17][18]	died
Liu Bing	刘兵	Male	21	01 Sep 2007	Died suddenly two hours after being discharged from work[19]	died
Li !Mr. Li	李 !姓李	Male	28	16 Mar 2008	Circumstances unknown	unknown
Sun Dan-yong	孙丹勇	Male	25	16 Jul 2009	Fell from apartment building[18][20] after losing an iPhone prototype in his possession.[21] Prior to death, 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 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
Li !Mr. Li	李 !姓李[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] Later she was interviewed by media. Paralyzed from waist down[1]
Mr. Lau	刘 !姓刘[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]
Ling !Ms. Ling	宁 !姓宁	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
He !Mr. He	贺 !姓贺[22]	Male	23	26 May 2010	Fell from building[30]	unknown
Chen !Mr. Chen	陈 !姓陈[22]	Male	25	27 May 2010	Suicide	died[22]
Liu !Mr. Liu	刘 !姓刘	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.[36]
Unknown	unknown	Male	20	26 May 2011	Fell from building. Died at Chengdu Pi County Deyuan	died[37][38]
Mr. Cai	蔡XX	Male	21	18 July 2011	Fell from building at Shenzhen plant. Only started working since June 27, 2011.	died[39][40][41]
Li Rongying	unknown	Female	20	23 November 2011	Jumped from fourth floor of a building over disappointment in a relationship.	died[42]

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.^[5]

In the media

• Sacom.hk Workers as Machines: Military Management in Foxconn. Report from Hong Kong-based non-profit Students & Scholars Against Corporate Misbehaviour (SACOM)
• Deconstructing Foxconn video from Chinese University of Hong Kong professor Jack Qiu

See also

• 2010 Chinese labour unrest
• France Télécom staff suicides
• Suicide in the People's Republic of China

References