Foxconn, an Apple supplier, has been at the center of controversy and rumors about its reaction to a series of suicides by Chinese factory workers. Now, a Foxconn executive is denying a rumor suggesting the Cupertino, Calif. iPhone maker is paying a 2 percent subsidy to offset a recent worker pay increase.
The executive made the denial Friday in comments to the National Business Daily, according to the trade publication DigiTimes. The executive “said the rumor is purely speculation and Foxconn has never received any subsidies from Apple,” the report said. In May, the Chinese website Zol claimed Apple was paying workers subsidies comprising a portion of profits made from products they manufacture. The rumor also said Apple was paying Foxconn 2.3 percent of the retail price of a product, a statement Foxconn now denies.
The supposed subsidies were just one of many attempts by Foxconn and Apple to work out a resolution to the highly-publicized suicides of Foxconn workers reportedly upset over low pay and poor conditions.
