There’s nothing funny about a company going bankrupt in and of itself, but we have to admit the dispute between Apple and its now-bankrupt sapphire supplier GT-Advanced Technologies is actually pretty amusing simply because it’s so strange. In the first place, we found it a bit funny when Apple said it was “surprised” that GT decided to file for bankruptcy since it was apparently a withheld Apple payment that sent the company into a downward spiral. Now 9to5Mac has highlighted some more strange details of the feud between the companies that allegedly show how Apple employs comically brutal negotiating tactics with suppliers.
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“When GTAT’s management expressed obvious concerns to Apple regarding the deal terms during the contract negotiations, Apple responded that similar terms are required for other Apple suppliers and that GTAT should: ‘Put on your big boy pants and accept the agreement,'” claims GT COO Daniel Squiller in an affidavit related to GT’s bankruptcy that was recently unsealed.
Squiller also claimed that Apple lured GT into signing an unfavorable agreement using “bait and switch” tactics.
There are many reasons that Apple is as insanely profitable as it is and one of them is that it is absolutely ruthless when it comes to negotiations with suppliers. Apple suppliers have in the past complained bitterly about how Apple treats them, as some have even taken to calling the company “Poison Apple.” That GT was subject to the same kinds of techniques shouldn’t be too much of a surprise.
To read more analysis of this recently unsealed affidavit, head on over to 9to5Mac by clicking the source link below.
