We last talked about the suicides at the Foxconn facilities in China only a week ago. But since that time the death toll has risen and Foxconn has been scrambling to respond and prevent future fatalities. Foxconn is the company that assembles many of the consumer electronics you may own, like smart phones, tablets, video game consoles. We follow up with Endgadget‘s Laura June about reports of workers being asked to sign a pledge not to commit suicide (a pledge the company later retracted and apologized for). Laura also tells us of the increased number of counselors on site and the reported installation of nets being placed beneath the tall dormitories from which many workers have been jumping.
For understanding of how the phenomenon of suicide is different in China than in the United States, we speak to Dr. Eric Caine. chair of Department of Psychiatry at University of Rochester Medical Center and co-director of enter for the Study and Prevention of Suicide.
Apple, HP, and Dell are all major partners with Foxconn and have all recently said that they would be investigating conditions there. We asked each company what specifically they planned to do. Here are their responses:
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