Click to Skip Ad
Closing in...

Apple sends medical team to ensure iPhone factory isn’t a death trap

Published Dec 12th, 2013 8:40AM EST
Apple Pegatron Labor Rights Controversy

If you buy through a BGR link, we may earn an affiliate commission, helping support our expert product labs.

It seems that learning about a dead teenage Pegatron worker has got Apple’s attention. Bloomberg reports that Apple has sent a medical team over to China to inspect a Pegatron factory to make sure that working conditions at the plant are not leading to a rash of worker deaths. Pegatron this week acknowledged that “several” of its young workers, including 15-year-old Shi Zhaokun, have died in recent months although the company insists that the deaths were unrelated to conditions in its factory. In a statement sent to Bloomberg, Apple said that while Pegatron has “found no evidence of any link to working conditions there, we realize that is of little comfort to the families who have lost their loved ones,” which is why it’s sending its own team to evaluate the situation. Pegatron, which has been largely responsible for manufacturing the iPhone 5c, has come under constant criticism from labor activists who say that the manufacturer provides even worse working conditions than Foxconn.

Brad Reed
Brad Reed Staff Writer

Brad Reed has written about technology for over eight years at BGR.com and Network World. Prior to that, he wrote freelance stories for political publications such as AlterNet and the American Prospect. He has a Master's Degree in Business and Economics Journalism from Boston University.