“Foxconn is actively looking into the possibility of setting up factories for high-end smartphone and tablet production in the US, as part of the next phase of its development,” Vlad Bobleanta reports for Unwired View.
“The Hon Hai Group Chairman and President Terry Gou admitted as much to Asian press,” Bobleanta reports. “Foxconn is the trading name for Hon Hai Precision Industry, the company that makes a lot of the mobile devices we know and love (most notably Apple’s stuff).”
“Foxconn wants to open two different headquarters in the US, one on the West Coast and the other on the East Coast,” Bobleanta reports. “These should be tasked with locating suitable places for the factories. Because of the higher costs of operation implied, only high-end devices would be made in the USA, with lower-cost offerings being confined to China for now.”
Read more in the full article here.
Does not Foxconn already has fabric in the USA — where Mac Pro is assembled?
(Apple does not owns facilities itself since 2004; Mac Pro assembly is managed by a third party.)
Ooh! Goody! Where do I sign up to sleep in bunk beds for 18¢ a day?
You’re probably not qualified for the job; need an I.Q. over 20 points.
Why insult me? You a big fan of Foxconn? You think they’re a good employer?
‘Owen Cash’ <-[fun pun] does point out why manufacturing in the US significantly cleared out and went into the 3rd world (and yes China, that's you). Getting manufacturing back into the USA requires 'lowered expectations' of remuneration and lifestyle. There was a slew of nasty factors that set off the global depression of 2007 onwards. But the migration of manufacturing jobs out of the USA was certainly prime.
And yes kids: One reason certain parties will NEVER reform immigration is because they LIKE having illegal aliens in the USA to under-pay and treat like slaves. Low Wage Pressures.
As China’s wages rise the US is looking more appealing for high tech manufacturing. It will be interesting to see whether wage rates increase – at some point it seems possible that wages in China will exceed those in the US, where real wage rates have been declining for years and now, in many areas, are virtually third world standard.
when milk costs a penny a gallon in the United States, I will personally welcome Foxconn to our country.
Get rid of government budget busting subsidies/price supports (which farmers receive) and the cost of milk would drop by half.
The US economy survives on the borrowing power of the federal government. It hasn’t been a market based economy for almost 50 years. And now its deficits are so large that borrowing may not be enough.
Transportation costs make in country production look better now than in previous years.
The plus is that they will be able to ship directly to consumer. That will make up for the increase in labor costs. There will also be plenty of incentives from local government happy to get any kind of employment.
My guess is that moving some production to the US would only become viable once automation has reached a point where there is no longer any need to employ vast numbers of workers.
Jony Ive is especially well suited to the challenge of designing devices that can be assembled by robotic systems.