Digital Journal — Apple has launched an investigation into charges that some overseas iPod factories are sweatshops where employees work 15 hour days for as little as $50 a week. The allegation surfaced in a feature article written in U.K.’s Daily Mail, where reporter Nick Webster infiltrated what he called “iPod City.”
In the Chinese village of Shenzhen, Webster wrote, factory workers churn out millions of iPods a year but are subjected to harsh conditions. “The dorms are single-sex, with more than 100 people in a single large room,” Webster quoted a worker explaining the sleeping arrangements. “They’re really overcrowded.”
In response, Apple issued an official statement, which included the following: “Apple is committed to ensuring that working conditions in our supply chain are safe, workers are treated with respect and dignity, and manufacturing processes are environmentally responsible,” according to BBC News.
The company added it was “currently investigating the allegations regarding working conditions in the iPod manufacturing plant in China.”
The Daily Mail article also reported on military-like drills at another Chinese factory that manufactures Apple’s iPod nano and employs 20,000 people. “On occasions, [young men and women] are required to stand still for hours without moving a muscle,” Webster wrote. “These extraordinary exercises were devised to ensure the workers toe the line.”
Apple is just one of many companies using Chinese factories to make its products. Since the iPod line was launched in 2001, Apple has sold around 42 million of the portable music players.
