For Apple & Amazon: Foxconn made it's interns work overtime to meet its production targets 🚫
Alexa, were you assembled by a 16-year old? 😧
With a clientele comprising of biggies (like Apple, Amazon, Google, Sony & Dell), Foxconn has great responsibilities and that include keeping up with the deadlines they commit to.Â
This year, it found a way to scale up production (during peak time) while keeping costs marginally low. It partnered with schools & technical institutes to hire young interns for its factories in China and more than 1500 interns happily opted to work at the world's largest manufacturer of electric components.Â
While the legal minimum age to work in China is 16-years, no company is permitted to make anyone below the age of 18 work overtime.Â
But, Foxconn found the right pressure points
These interns were accompanied by their teachers every day, who in turn were paid to control uncooperating students and pressure them into accepting over-time shifts by reminding them of the importance of a well-formed CV (& workplace discipline of course).
These interns were made to work 10 hours a day for 6 days a week and were paid ₹160 per hour (approx. ₹40,000 per month). That is almost half the wage that normal factory workers are paid. In turn, schools would receive ₹5000 per month for every student they provided.
If you remove the OT, it's a smart strategy 👌
If Foxconn cuts the over-time for interns and it will have to since Chinese Labor Investigation agencies have been involved (not to mention the global media attention), it is definitely a smart strategy to cut production costs in the short-term. That being said, it is likely that the internship program will continue after Foxconn pays the relevant fines.