Why Apple Products Are Made In China

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Honestly? I think Apple is one of the few companies with the resources to move the manufacturing of its products back to the states. It would be nice to see them take the initiative and just do it. All those "outpaced" American workers they speak of might just surprise them.

It isn't just that workers are cheaper abroad. Rather, Apple's executives believe the vast scale of overseas factories as well as the flexibility, diligence and industrial skills of foreign workers have so outpaced their American counterparts that "Made in the U.S.A." is no longer a viable option for most Apple products.
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So.... money?

No I didn't read the article. But it's always money, it's a business and money is it's life's blood. That won't change.
 
I can believe this to an extent. If these jobs opened up again in the US you would see a spike in people applying for classes in these electronic fields. It would cost more but it would still be a better product I would like to think.
 
Nobody in this country will work a 35 hour shift for $10. Exactly why they will keep doing what they are doing.
 
"diligence and industrial skills" might as well read as "cowed, desperate and eager to work long hours doing dull mind-numbing grunt work for minimal pay". Of course US citizens arn't going to build apple products under those conditions, we have standards.
 
Q1DM6 said:
No. Because unemployment pays far more than working in that situation.
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unemployment isn't designed to be pulled full time, these people will eventually run out of options and be forced to get off their @$$.
 
Such a claim would require proof.

The innovation you would have here may be able to compete, but the big difference is if apple products were manufactured here Apple would have a much better monopoly position because they could keep tech out of others hands more effectively (e.g. Samsung).
 
Trimlock said:
unemployment isn't designed to be pulled full time, these people will eventually run out of options and be forced to get off their @$$.
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Yeah? What's it run right now? 90 something weeks? We would have to destroy the concept of minimum wage in this country to make what you're proposing happen, and I just don't see it happening any time soon.
 
Q1DM6 said:
Yeah? What's it run right now? 90 something weeks? We would have to destroy the concept of minimum wage in this country to make what you're proposing happen, and I just don't see it happening any time soon.
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huh? 35 hours at $10 turns to sweeping minimum wage?

when their free checks runs out they are screwing themselves over in the future unless they can find a solid job. A job at Apple, supplying 35 hours and $10 with ok-benefits would be as solid as they could get, I would even pick up a small part time on the side to qualify for full time benefits on my insurance.
 
Lies! It's regulations! It's taxation! It's guvment oppresssionnnn!!!

Anyone who believes that if US corporations don't have to pay taxes or comply with regulations will create more jobs in the US simply isn't listening to what these corporations are saying about the subject.
 
Trimlock said:
huh? 35 hours at $10 turns to sweeping minimum wage?

when their free checks runs out they are screwing themselves over in the future unless they can find a solid job. A job at Apple, supplying 35 hours and $10 with ok-benefits would be as solid as they could get, I would even pick up a small part time on the side to qualify for full time benefits on my insurance.
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You are aware that is $10 for 35 hours, not $10 an hour ..
 
Trimlock said:
huh? 35 hours at $10 turns to sweeping minimum wage?

when their free checks runs out they are screwing themselves over in the future unless they can find a solid job. A job at Apple, supplying 35 hours and $10 with ok-benefits would be as solid as they could get, I would even pick up a small part time on the side to qualify for full time benefits on my insurance.
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You would work for 28 cents an hour?
 
Trimlock said:
huh? 35 hours at $10 turns to sweeping minimum wage?

when their free checks runs out they are screwing themselves over in the future unless they can find a solid job. A job at Apple, supplying 35 hours and $10 with ok-benefits would be as solid as they could get, I would even pick up a small part time on the side to qualify for full time benefits on my insurance.
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UI are not "free checks". It's insurance. It comes out of your wages when you are working. Furthermore there are conditions that must be met to collect the money that you have paid in. Stop with the lies.
 
canna said:
You would work for 28 cents an hour?
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Exactly. :eek:
Where do I sign up for that? After a full days work I could buy myself a nice Apple... uh, iPod? no... iPad, cover? no... hmm, a sticker maybe? Sweet. :rolleyes:
 
Old Man said:
UI are not "free checks". It's insurance. It comes out of your wages when you are working. Furthermore there are conditions that must be met to collect the money that you have paid in. Stop with the lies.
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It's not a lie, people are collecting far more than they individually pay in because everyone else is contributing. Also, 'food stamps' (cards now) are free.
 
Apple won't manufacture here because it reduces the bottom line. This means less for the greedy stockholders. Granted, we do have some dead weight but most people will work just fine. The skills that foreign workers have are;
1-Have no other choice but work there.
2-Being afraid of getting beaten if they spend an extra minute in the bathroom.
3-Desperation leading to suicide so that their families can have a better life thanks to the life insurance.
 
Unions guarantee far more to assembly workers in the US than they are worth.

Putting part A into part B isn't worth $12 / hour plus benefits but that's what it would cause in the US. The US really has no one to blame but itself for all these circumstances.
 
Q1DM6 said:
It's not a lie, people are collecting far more than they individually pay in because everyone else is contributing. Also, 'food stamps' (cards now) are free.
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that is usually how insurance works.... and why insuranc e companies go tits up in a disaster...
 
MrD1234 said:
and why insuranc e companies go tits up in a disaster...
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They're not supposed to IF they have managed their risk properly. And there's a number of large insurance companies that have seen plenty of disasters and are doing quite well because they're very good at managing risk, and of course avoiding large payouts.
 
Trimlock said:
I can believe this to an extent. If these jobs opened up again in the US you would see a spike in people applying for classes in these electronic fields. It would cost more but it would still be a better product I would like to think.
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Classes to repeatedly tape parts or test circuit boards all day long? I don't think you even need to be literate for most of this manufacturing.
 
Stoly said:
many people would rather NOT work than work for low pay.
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+1

I'm fairly liberal when it comes to social programs; but damnit, people need to get a gut check sometimes on quality of living. Maybe that ditch-digging job ain't so bad when you still get to go home to cable TV and in-door plumbing, oh wait the government will let you do that for free. :(
 
These products wouldn't even exist at all if not for employees actually making decent pay. They could exist without cheap labor and lower exec pay, which has really gotten out of control. It will be interesting as real wages continue to drop if there will even be a market for many of these products in the size they are needed to keep them profitable.
 
12 bucks and hour in the US is not living. Its paying for food and gas not much more. Not all union jobs pay well and provide great insurance. Some provide great free insurance at competitive wages such as the UAW . I fully back them as those jobs are fast moving hard physical labor jobs (mostly long hours). They earn what they make . I'm a UAW worker. The electronic soldering jobs were to come here with long hours would have to pay more than 10 bucks an hour. I mean who can live on that. Hell my cousin who owns a construction business cant even pay his mexican workers who cant even speak english less than 20 an hour. The cost of living has got so high in the US that most cant work for the low wages and make it. I will say we can work just as hard and efficient as the foreign workers.
 
Stoly said:
many people would rather NOT work than work for low pay.
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Would you work for 28 cents an hour? how about a dollar an hour? hell, even $5 an hour How far do you think that will get you? The problem is, you may be working, but your just prolonging the inevitable .

HRslammR said:
+1

I'm fairly liberal when it comes to social programs; but damnit, people need to get a gut check sometimes on quality of living. Maybe that ditch-digging job ain't so bad when you still get to go home to cable TV and in-door plumbing, oh wait the government will let you do that for free. :(
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See my questions above.
 
Cali3350 said:
Unions guarantee far more to assembly workers in the US than they are worth.

Putting part A into part B isn't worth $12 / hour plus benefits but that's what it would cause in the US. The US really has no one to blame but itself for all these circumstances.
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IDK, I only have an associates degree and make ~$35 an hour (not including the value of benefits which is another $10+ an hour). Sales/Marketing is one of the best fields to be in. It doesn't matter of the economy is good or bad, companies *always* need more revenue generation. If you can deliver, you will be compensated reasonably well and any employment lapses will be short.
 
So, basically China can do whatever they want, because if we go to war with China (for whatever reason), we'd lose all electronic goods. I don't think much raw electronics are made in the USA (some CPU/GPU dies, etc.), but most are in China. Cost, materials, whatever. If we had more electronic manufacturing here, along with the talent to design the end product, we'd be on top again. Tons more jobs (that pay more than $10 an hour for skilled work. General labor would still be low, as usual).

They COULD make it in the USA. They just choose not to. Prices may go up, but so will quality, sales and pride. I'd buy a lot more Apple products if they were made in the USA. When shopping, I check labels. I buy Made in USA first. Sad part is, there are so many people out there (99%'ers) that claim that there are no jobs, too much outsourcing, shit made in China, etc. that continue to buy cheap Chinese products instead of a slightly more expensive USA brand.
 
1/2 bent said:
12 bucks and hour in the US is not living. Its paying for food and gas not much more. Not all union jobs pay well and provide great insurance. Some provide great free insurance at competitive wages such as the UAW . I fully back them as those jobs are fast moving hard physical labor jobs (mostly long hours). They earn what they make . I'm a UAW worker. The electronic soldering jobs were to come here with long hours would have to pay more than 10 bucks an hour. I mean who can live on that. Hell my cousin who owns a construction business cant even pay his mexican workers who cant even speak english less than 20 an hour. The cost of living has got so high in the US that most cant work for the low wages and make it. I will say we can work just as hard and efficient as the foreign workers.
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Just because someone needs X of something doesn't mean you just give it to them. Some union jobs are definitely worth the 25/hour they get. But a lot aren't. And people say "but they need that!" and the truth is it doesn't matter. If they need more then they need to spend less, have more people in the family work, or get a better job. You pay people what their job is worth. That's is the ONLY way a free market based society will work. Taping electronic board A to part B isn't worth more than 2 an hour, and that's why it will never come to America.
 
IronChef75 said:
More Apple news? Seriously?
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There's only so much new hardware that gets released to the market for us to talk about. In order to fill up the space, flogging the dead Apple and Facebook horses keeps the masses amused until nVidia, AMD, or Intel throw us our next bone on a now predictable release cycle. A few years ago, the industry was interesting and filled with surprises. Now, things are settling down and technologies are maturing. Sure people are stuffing PC functions into phones and Apple is rebranding the Fujitsu PenCentra 200 none of us bought in 2001 (http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,32935,00.asp) but the PC industry is predictable and utterly boring at present. Until something new happens, we can at least make fun of a few scapegoat companies and be creeped out by Google.
 
Ur_Mom said:
So, basically China can do whatever they want, because if we go to war with China (for whatever reason), we'd lose all electronic goods. I don't think much raw electronics are made in the USA (some CPU/GPU dies, etc.), but most are in China. Cost, materials, whatever. If we had more electronic manufacturing here, along with the talent to design the end product, we'd be on top again. Tons more jobs (that pay more than $10 an hour for skilled work. General labor would still be low, as usual).

They COULD make it in the USA. They just choose not to. Prices may go up, but so will quality, sales and pride. I'd buy a lot more Apple products if they were made in the USA. When shopping, I check labels. I buy Made in USA first. Sad part is, there are so many people out there (99%'ers) that claim that there are no jobs, too much outsourcing, shit made in China, etc. that continue to buy cheap Chinese products instead of a slightly more expensive USA brand.
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China needs us too though. Going to war with the US would cost to much. It's a totaly dependent relationship.
 
blahblahblah. cut the bullshit.

china workers are cheap
and blue collar americans are whiny little bitches who unionize and demand wages higher than they are worth.

that's all.
 
darkstarcow said:
Would you work for 28 cents an hour? how about a dollar an hour? hell, even $5 an hour How far do you think that will get you? The problem is, you may be working, but your just prolonging the inevitable .



See my questions above.
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Exactly. You simply can't make a living of any kind on that wage. You'll be homeless very quick, only saving grace would be if the company provides bed/showers, because you'll be without one otherwise.

In today's world, one small trip to the grocery store costs you $50. That's essentially your months wage after taxes.
 
darkstarcow said:
Would you work for 28 cents an hour? how about a dollar an hour? hell, even $5 an hour How far do you think that will get you? The problem is, you may be working, but your just prolonging the inevitable .
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What's the point of working just for a wage if you can't make enough to cover basic bills and then have something left over to save and invest and enjoy at least something simple now then. If that's the case I think corporations should just bring back shanty towns where at least a person has a place to sleep without fear of going homeless if they can't pay the rent or mortgage, unless you get fired or laid off.

I'm not the hardest working person I know by a long shot but I'm willing to work for a wage if actually can at least break me even, even if that may mean working at least some on an extra job. But if the work can't provide the basics, then what's the point?
 
Geeze...

How much in profit did Apple make last year?


I would hate to see their labor costs of an American labor force to cut into that measily bit of a profit that they have. How would all the management, board members, and the CEO get all that bonus money then?


I believe that American workers can rival others for quality, but it takes management staff that is able to do their job and not be afraid of Unions. Being able to fire the bad apples and under performers is what can keep quality up. Far to often in Union based plants quality suffers because the workers can do anything and keep their jobs.
 
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