The technology manufacturing giant, Foxconn has been given permission to drain 7 million gallons of water a day from Lake Michigan to use for free in their factory.
The post Gov’t Just Gave Foxconn License to Drain 7 Million Gallons a DAY from Lake Michigan to Make iPhones appeared first on The Free Thought Project.
With unemployment in the US purportedly reaching its lowest level in 17 years (that is, according to the Department of Labor"s flawed household survey) employees who once would"ve been too fearful to leave their jobs are now actively looking for opportunities. With that in mind, many have probably wondered what"s the best company to work for where they live?
Well, HowMuch.com gathered data compiled by Forbes into an infographic to try and map out the best and largest employers in every country.
Forbes recently released a ranking of the best companies in the world using a variety of different perks and benefits, like the quality of food served to employees, parental leave policies or whether companies allow their employees to nap while on the job.
HowMuch mapped these companies by paying attention to their market capitalization to get a feel for how large an organization needs to be to afford such high-quality benefits. One company therefore represents each country, color-coded by market cap. Red countries have an employer worth over $100 billion, and dark blue countries boast relatively small employers under $10 billion.
Several trends immediately pop out from our map:
Here’s a simplified list of the countries with the best employers in the world, ranked in order of their total market cap:
Coming in at No. 1 is, of course, Alphabet. It tops the list because of its size and market dominance.
AAPL stock is sliding this afternoon as The Wall Street Journal reports the new iPhone is said to have seen "production glitches."
Apple Inc.’s new iPhone, which is expected to be unveiled Tuesday, was plagued by production glitches early in the manufacturing process this summer, according to people familiar with the situation, which could result in extended supply shortfalls and shipping delays when customers start ordering the device later this month. New iPhones are typically in short supply when first released. But if shortfalls of the new phone extend beyond the initial sales period, which is expected to begin September 22, they could weaken analysts’ and investors’ projections for sales in the crucial holiday period.
...The production glitches led to a setback of about a month in the manufacturing timetable. Foxconn Technology Group, the Apple contractor that assembles iPhones, has been ramping up production at its manufacturing complex in Zhengzhou, China. The company is paying bonuses to employees who can help bring new hires on board at its Zhengzhou plant, which Foxconn said in June employs about 250,000 people.
Ironically, this was predicted three months ago by Citi analyst Jim Suva who warned that "based on industry-wide checks, we believe the significant enhancements to the iPhone 8 OLED could experience delays as it ramps to high volume production in order to meet strong demand" and as a result slashed his September iPhone delivery estimate from 47 million to 40 million.
Of course, having ignored the news in June, the stock is acting quite surprised now that the exact same story is back in the headlines.
On the other hand, who knows: this could all be just another clever AAPL PR move to create scarcity and buzz ahead of the looming launch.
As Foxconn promises to bring 10s of thousands of jobs to Wisconsin amid billions of dollars of investment in new plants, one wonders what is going on in China that makes this economic (aside from the $3 billion "incentives")...
Perhaps this...
Statista"s Isabel von Kessel writes that in 2016, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MOHRSS) in China registered 1.8 million labor disputes – an increase of almost 118 percent compared to the previous year.
You will find more statistics at Statista
Is this reason enough for local enterprises to outsource their production?
The Taiwanese electronics supplier for Apple, Foxconn, plans to open its first major factory in the U.S. President Trump, who is seeking to bolster domestic manufacturing welcomes this investment:
“This is a great day for American workers and manufacturing, and for everyone who believes in the concept and the label, ‘Made in the USA.’”
Foxconn however, has come under massive criticism in recent years with several labor disputes arising from the company’s working conditions.
In fact, labor disputes in general have become a major problem in China. One of the many reasons might be the insufficient mediation between employees and the management by the national All-China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU).
To much fanfare, President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced that Taiwanese electronics giant Foxconn, best known for making the iPhone, will build a new plant producing LCD panels in Wisconsin that will bring thousands of jobs to the state. On the surface it"s a great deal: in what"s being called the largest economic development project in state history, Foxconn plans to build a $10 billion plant that will eventually employ as many as 13,000 people, according to the White House and Gov. Scott Walker.
"It starts today with this investment in Wisconsin," Foxconn chairman Terry Gou said at announcement in Washington D.C. on Wednesday.
The plant is expected to open in 2020 and be on a 20 million square-foot campus on at least 1,000 acres, a campus Walker"s office has dubbed "Wisconn Valley" according to the Wisconsin State Journal. The plant could be the first of several facilities the company intends to build in the United States and will start with 3,000 employees, a staff that could eventually grow by 10,000.
Furthermore, Walker"s office projected the project would create at least 22,000 "indirect and induced jobs" throughout Wisconsin and will generate an estimated $181 million in state and local tax revenues annually, including $60 million in local property taxes.
In making the announcement, Trump was near-euphoric: “This is a great day for American workers and manufacturers and for everybody who believes in the concept and the label ’Made in the USA,” the president said. “The construction of this facility represents the return of LCD electronics and electronic manufacturing to the United States, the country that we love, that’s where we want our jobs,” he continued.
Trump gave himself credit for the deal: “To make such an incredible investment, [Foxconn Chairman Terry] Gou put his faith and confidence in the future of the American economy,” the president said. “In other words, If I didn’t get elected, he definitely would not be spending $10 billion.”
The Foxconn chairman validated Trump"s boast, crediting the president with spurring the investment: "I met you three times. Each time you emphasized the importance of manufacturing in America and providing high-skilled jobs for American workers," Gou said about Trump. He also explained why here, and why now: “Why do it here? TV was invented in America, yet America does not have a single LCD factory. We are going to change that. And it starts today with this investment in Wisconsin. This is a win-win-win strategy,” Gou said, adding he is “committed to great, great jobs for American people.”
According to the State Journal, the deal with Foxconn was "a culmination of many months of discussion" between a team of Republicans from the White House, Wisconsin and Foxconn officials, a White House official said. The negotiations included Trump, his senior adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner, chief-of-staff Reince Priebus, Ryan and Walker.
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And while superficially the agreement is a slam dunk for both Wisconsin, and US workers - especially in a high-tech sector that has over the years shifted to China - reading between the lines of the deal makes one wonder who is getting the best deal.
While a White House official said there will be no new federal programs to provide new incentives for Foxconn to build in Wisconsin, he added that the company could be eligible for existing incentives offered by the federal government.
What subsidies? The "incentive package" contemplated as part of the Foxconn deal will total $3 billion over 15 years, including $1.5 billion in state income tax credits for job creation; up to $1.35 billion in state income tax credits for capital investment and up to $150 million for the sales and use tax exemption. In other words, just over $230,000 for each new job that Foxconn may (or may not) create.
To some this is a problem: "The bottom line is this company has a concerning track record of big announcements with little follow through. Given the lack of details, I’m skeptical about this announcement and we will have to see if there is a legislative appetite for a $1 to $3 billion corporate welfare package," Sen. Jennifer Shilling, D-La Crosse, said, referring to the company"s 2013 announced plans to build in Pennsylvania that never materialized. Fitchburg Democratic Rep. Jimmy Anderson blasted the deal as a multibillion-dollar handout" and said "taxpayers should not be subsidizing private corporations at the expense of our children, school and roads."
Yet not all Democrats blasted the deal: lawmakers from the region where Foxconn is expected to locate were more receptive to the news. Sen. Robert Wirch, D-Pleasant Prairie, called the news "a great thing for southeastern Wisconsin;" Barca hailed it as "an exciting opportunity." Barca, D-Kenosha, said he met with Foxconn officials earlier this month and has been in touch with the Walker administration about its discussions with the company. "I"ve heard that they are family-supporting jobs and that the wages, on average, are actually more on the high end of the spectrum," Barca said.
However, besides one"s view on incentives - which ultimately have to be funded somehow by taxpayers - there is another potential problem: this is not the first time Foxconn has come out with bombastic promises to create US jobs, only to quietly reneg on its pledge.
In 2013, Foxconn said it would spend $30 million to build a plant in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Then-Gov. Tom Corbett (R) personally helped craft the deal and hailed the plan in a statement, saying “Pennsylvania is once again leading the way through integrating technology into manufacturing.” The plant didn’t get built. The next year, Foxconn announced a $1 billion investment in Indonesia. The year after that, $5 billion in India. Though the announcements caused many excited headlines, the ambitious plans never came to fruition, according to an investigation published in March.
Scott Paul, president of the Alliance for American Manufacturing, a group that advocates for favorable manufacturing trade policies, applauded the Trump administration for trying to bring consumer electronics manufacturing to the U.S., but said he’s skeptical of Wednesday’s news. “I’ll be excited about this Foxconn announcement when I see actual paychecks going to workers in Wisconsin,” Paul said.
Furthermore, Gou has regularly made noise about bringing a Foxconn factory to the United States. Earlier this year, the company said it was considering several states for a new plant that would make digital display panels. An administration official said the deal had been in the works for months, with talks being led by Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner. At a speech in Wisconsin in June, Trump hinted an announcement could be on the horizon. "Just backstage, we were negotiating with a major, major, incredible manufacturer of phones and computers and televisions, and I think they’re going to give the governor a very happy surprise very soon,” Trump said.
Whether or not the deal is real or just another mirage, remains to be seen, but another question involves relative wages: it is clear that Foxconn would not pursue US expansion if the economics were not right. Surely the generous incentives were a key part of the calculus, but from a bigger picture perspective, one wonders if - in at least one industry - the US has not reached wage parity with China.
As Forbes recently reported, "average wages in China’s manufacturing sector have soared above those in countries such as Brazil and Mexico and are fast catching up with Greece and Portugal after a decade of breakneck growth that has seen Chinese pay packets treble." That"s average: wages for highly skilled sectors such as LCD production are far greater; in fact, it is distinctly possible that they are now higher in China than equivalent all-in comp (with incentives) in the US, especially for a company like Foxconn.
Foxconn factory
Recall that this is the same Foxconn that not so long ago Foxconn replaced 60,000 factory workers with robots due to rising labor costs.
In a statement to the BBC, Foxconn Technology Group confirmed that it was automating "many of the manufacturing tasks associated with our operations" but denied that it meant long-term job losses.
"We are applying robotics engineering and other innovative manufacturing technologies to replace repetitive tasks previously done by employees, and through training, also enable our employees to focus on higher value-added elements in the manufacturing process, such as research and development, process control and quality control.
"We will continue to harness automation and manpower in our manufacturing operations, and we expect to maintain our significant workforce in China."
... and perhaps add to it in the US, with the proper amount of sweeteners of course. Because if the wage equivalency tipping point between high-tech jobs in China and the US has indeed been reached (or is close to it) the consequences for both the Chinese and US economy would be dramatic. If that is the case, Foxconn"s first foray into the US may be just the beginning.
Looks like Softbank Group Chairman Masayoshi Son is making good on his promise to invest billions and create tens of thousands of jobs in the U.S.
The Softbank Vision Fund, now the world’s largest private-equity fund, announced on Saturday that it has raised over $93 billion to invest in technology like artificial intelligence and robotics, Reuters reported.
Trump tweeted back in December that Masayoshi Son had promised to invest $50 billion in the U.S. – something that, according to Trump, wouldn’t have happened if Hillary Clinton had won the election.
The announcement coincided with President Donald Trump’s visit to Saudi Arabia – his first trip abroad as president – and the signing of billions of dollars’ of deals between the two countries, including a $350 billion arms deal that’s been tagged as the largest ever. Softbank Group and Saudi Arabia"s Public Investment Fund, the kingdom"s sovereign-wealth fund, have partnered the create the fund, which also has received contributions from deep-pocketed investors including Abu Dhabi"s Mubadala Investment, which has committed $15 billion, Apple Inc, Qualcomm, Taiwan"s Foxconn Technology and Japan"s Sharp Corp.
The fund is still hoping to reach $100 billion and expects to complete its money-raising in six months, according to Reuters.
We"re looking forward to the flood of leveraged buyouts that will likely follow.
AAPL stock briefly spiked in what may have been yet another stop hunt moments ago, following a MacRumors report that Apple is expected to announce new products later this month, most likely between Monday, March 20 and Friday, March 24, citing "reputable" supply chain analysts.
The analysts did not disclose which products it expects Apple to announce, but rumors have suggested at least a trio of new iPad Pro models will be unveiled as early as this month, including a new 10.5-inch model with slimmer bezels and updated 9.7-inch and 12.9-inch versions.
The sources expecting an iPad refresh include, among others, KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, Barclays analyst Blayne Curtis, and Japanese blog Mac Otakara. The latter of the three also expects a new 7.9-inch model that would supplant the iPad mini 4, but others have denied or yet to mention that particular claim.
Last month, Japanese blog Mac Otakara said Apple will host a March event where it will debut its new iPad Pro lineup, a larger iPhone SE model with 128GB storage, and new Apple Watch bands. The report also claimed Apple will add a red color option for iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, which could be part of (PRODUCT)RED.
The all-new 10.5-inch iPad Pro is expected to have slimmer bezels, and possibly no Home button, allowing it to have the same overall footprint as the 9.7-inch iPad Pro. This design could foreshadow the rumored 5.8-inch iPhone. The tablet is also rumored to have a higher-resolution display and quad microphones.
The updated 12.9-inch iPad Pro is said to feature a 12-megapixel rear camera and True Tone display like the current 9.7-inch model, using advanced four-channel ambient light sensors to automatically adapt the color and intensity of the display to match the light in the surrounding environment.
On the other hand, Apple has yet to invite the media to an event this month, and those invites would be a far shoter notice than usual if Tim Cook is indeed planning to announce new products this way as early as next week. In each of the past two years, Apple invited the media to its March event roughly 11-12 days beforehand, including February 26 invites for a March 9 event in 2015 and March 10 invites for a March 21 event last year, MacRumor notes.
Which, according to the website, means that there are three plausible scenarios if new products are in the cards:
Another rumor suggested Apple could be planning an event on April 4, but this date was based on Personal Pickup for the 12.9-inch iPad Pro, which is generally not a reliable indicator of an event. The in-store pickup date for 12.9-inch iPad Pro models is a rolling target, as evidenced by the April 10 date now shown.
For now, there is no indication that a new iPhone is coming any time soon, which may be the reason why after the initial spike higher, AAPL stock has since given up the kneejerk gains.
