Reborn: Billionaire in College

Trying his best to resist the urge to curse, Cook sighed and said to his secretary: "Next time when you report something, please talk about the important things first."

Lu Lei sensed something unusual: "This incident is probably related to Orange Technology, right? How could it be such a coincidence that it happened at this exact time?"

Qiu Qiuliang disagreed: "It could also be Samsung. Don't we have a lawsuit with Samsung?"

Cook nodded in agreement: "Sorry, I can't tell right now whether it's Samsung or Orange, but we have to settle this storm quickly."

The meeting couldn't go on any further at this point; no one wanted to stay in the meeting room any longer.

After returning to the office, Cook gradually learned the details of the situation.

The New York Times published an article exposing the problem of cheap labor in Apple's industrial chain.

The report pointed out that at Apple's contract manufacturer Foxconn, the factory was accused of forcing workers to work long hours without interruption, using dangerous chemicals that caused serious health problems, and exposing workers to dangerous working environments.

In stark contrast to overseas sweatshops, Apple has generated billions of dollars in huge profits, partly due to cheap labor in China. (Apple's revenue surged 74% to a record $463 billion last quarter; profits doubled to $131 billion. Apple's sales last quarter exceeded its historical quarterly sales record, breaking Wall Street's expectations.)
In just the time it took for the meeting to happen, the incident had already become big news and was all over Twitter.

Things developed very quickly, and Cook smelled a hint of conspiracy.

Why are there people petitioning online as soon as the report is released?
The content of this report is so detailed that even Apple itself didn't know about it. How long did the New York Times take to investigate?
Just as Cook was preparing to arrange a trip to China.

The situation developed faster than anyone expected.

仅仅第二天。

Protesters submitted a petition to Apple's six major retail stores, calling on Apple to improve the working conditions of its overseas factory workers.

The number of signatures on the petition has skyrocketed to 8.

Public opinion was uproar.

On the third day, the number of petitioners reached 13.

Countless Apple fans spontaneously surrounded the local Apple store and stood in front of the store holding various signs.

As a result, Apple stores had to close down.

"We want to make sure that Apple's products are not made with cruelty, and we call on Apple to use its creativity and think ethically to create iPhones that are not made in these overseas factories with terrible working conditions," the organizers said.

Apple is struggling internally with this situation.

At the same time, I feel very aggrieved. Foxconn only manufactures its own products. Doesn't it also manufacture computers for HP and Dell?
Why are you all coming for me?

Apple has nothing to complain about.

Foxconn has caused too many problems. If it doesn't pay for it, who will?
In particular, Apple's operating profit margin is now over 30%, but the profit margin of Foxconn's parent company Hon Hai has dropped by nearly 2006% from 4 to the current 2%. Hon Hai Precision's operating profit margin has now dropped to 1.5%. Surveys show that for every iPhone sold, Foxconn can only get 0.5% of the profit; for every iPad sold, Foxconn gets 2% of the profit. The United States, however, gets 58.5% and 30% of the profits respectively.

China's share of the profits was pitifully small, with the amount returned to Chinese workers in the form of wages being just $8 per unit, or 1.6% of the selling price.

This incident became more and more serious. After it spread to China, some people with a curious mind compared the wages of ordinary workers in several mobile phone OEM factories.

You don’t know if you don’t compare them, but you will be shocked when you compare them.

The salary of Foxconn's general workers is only two-thirds of that of the general workers in the Orange Super Factory, and the environment is poor and overtime is severe.

"I worked in Foxconn for a few months. It was not a place for human beings. There was no private life. Every day I worked and slept. The basic salary for ordinary workers was 1800 yuan. With overtime, the maximum monthly salary was 3000 yuan. After all the work was over, it was about 2700 yuan. After ten months of employment, the basic salary would increase to 2000 yuan."

"Brother, with your income, you might as well go deliver food. You can make at least 4000+ a month."

"I am trembling with fear. I am a general worker at the Qingshan Lake Super Factory of Orange Technology. The Orange S3 has been on sale recently and it has been selling so well. I have to work overtime every day. I am questioning my life. I wanted to muster up the courage to resign, but when I saw the salary of the Foxconn brother above, I can only say that I can still work overtime!"

"Brother upstairs, can I ask about your salary? Is it convenient to tell me?"

"I earned 5074 yuan last month, and I worked a lot of overtime. The base salary for ordinary workers is 2500 yuan."

"Fuck, it's so tall, are you still hiring?"

"We are hiring. Our second phase factory has been built. We need to work as a general worker. The Qingshan Lake Super Factory is now full of people looking for work."

It is worth mentioning that although they are both general workers, the workers in the two companies have such a big difference in income.

The main reason is that when Apple sends the order to Foxconn, it tries to lower the price, and Foxconn also wants to make a profit. The Orange factory is its own son, and it has no intention of making money from the factory, so the welfare of the workers is naturally much better.

But this is not a common phenomenon in domestic sweatshops.

After 2 days.

Xinhuanet published a special report: 25 Americans petitioned for better treatment of Chinese workers?

How ironic.

Apple was pushed to the forefront of the storm for a while.

Guo Taiming explained aggrievedly: "The profits of OEM manufacturers like us are not high, because we don't have core technology and therefore lack the right to speak. Generally speaking, the profits that OEM manufacturers can get are around 5%, but in recent years, due to the impact of labor costs, rising raw material prices and the appreciation of the RMB, the profits of OEM will decrease. Because Apple has a large shipment volume and a strong position, its profits are also diluted. It's hard for us to live!"

3 month 17 day.

In order to calm down the anger of consumers, Apple finally announced that the Fair Labor Association will audit Apple's final product assembly factories at the invitation of the company, including Foxconn's factories in Shenzhen and Chengdu. The first FLA investigation results and opinions will be published on its official website in early April.

The audit team began investigating Foxconn's Shenzhen factory on Monday morning and will last for about two weeks. The investigation will include the working and living conditions of thousands of employees, including their health, safety, salary, working hours, communication with management, the factory's manufacturing areas, employee dormitories and other facilities. FLA will eventually give a comprehensive assessment report.

Foxconn retail director and company spokesman Hu Guohui told the media that the FLA will investigate at least four Foxconn factories in China and expects to talk to "thousands" of workers.

Apple CEO Tim Cook said he believes workers should have the right to a safe and fair working environment no matter where they are, which is why they asked a third party to conduct an independent assessment of their largest suppliers.

The reason why Cook took action against his own younger brother so quickly is that if the problem is not controlled, it will be a big problem. The anti-epidemic trend has spread to London, Sydney and other places.

In response to Apple's announcement, Chen Pingjiang, a well-known Twitter influencer, wrote: "There is an old Chinese saying that goes, 'A good cook cannot cook without rice. Apple gives people so much money and tries its best to squeeze their profit margins. So isn't it normal that the workers' firepower space is squeezed?"

The tweet received 24 likes in less than 60 hours.

………………

Under the watchful eyes of the public, Cook finally finalized his itinerary for his China trip and boarded the plane.

From the moment he boarded the plane, the focus of domestic and foreign media was on when he would meet with Chen Pingjiang.

The reason why the visit to China has not been finalized is because of the ambiguous attitude of Orange Technology.

So Apple used its connections to repeatedly approach Chen Pingjiang to negotiate peace.

Chen Pingjiang nodded reluctantly.

"Cook arrived in BJ yesterday and expressed his intention to strengthen intellectual property protection and humanistic care, and focused on deepening cooperation between Apple and the Chinese government. He met with senior executives of China Unicom and China Telecom, hinting at increasing investment in China. He also visited Apple stores and interacted cordially with Apple fans, leaving many happy pictures." Lin Bin laughed: "This time, he has put in a lot of hard work. These are all preparations, and now they are just to put some pressure on us."

Zhou Guangping nodded: "The old guy is very cunning. Let's first settle the relationships at other levels. If we still insist on our own way and are unwilling to reconcile, we may be hated by other levels. Let's make a bold assumption. Maybe they will even lead the public to say that we are boycotting foreign investment, destroying the jobs of countless operators and supply chain factories."

Cook's actions are constantly building up momentum.

It was announced that it would increase investment, create more jobs and support the domestic mobile phone supply chain.

Constantly describing Apple's importance to the Chinese economy.

"We haven't even met yet, but you're already acting so arrogantly. How are you going to deal with this, Mr. Chen?"

Chen Pingjiang spread his hands and said, "He is worrying too much. Am I the kind of person who would do anything to the extreme? As long as Cook is willing to pay some protection money, I will not kill anyone."

3 month 22 day.

This is the last day of Cook’s visit to China and also the last stop.

Dongjiang!

At 10 a.m., Cook and his delegation arrived at Dongjiang International Airport on a chartered plane carrying a large number of media.

Orange Technology sent a senior vice president to the airport to pick us up, which left people speechless.

Cook's face lit up, and he said to Lu Lei, "It seems that Chen Pingjiang has also felt the pressure and sent such a luxurious convoy to welcome us. It should be easier to talk today. I originally thought that this person couldn't drink a drop of alcohol, but it turns out to be just like this."

Lu Lei smiled and nodded: "We have done a very good job in laying the groundwork. The three major operators have also seen it. They will not refuse so many jobs and investments. If Orange Technology still insists on doing it, it will be going against the mouths of millions of people who make a living." (End of this chapter)