Seven Apple Suppliers Accused of Using Forced Labor From Xinjiang

[...] The Information and human rights groups have found seven companies supplying device components, coatings and assembly services to Apple that are linked to alleged forced labor involving Uyghurs and other oppressed minorities in China. At least five of those companies received thousands of Uyghur and other minority workers at specific factory sites or subsidiaries that did work for Apple, the investigation found.

The revelation stands in contrast to Apple’s assertions over the past year that it hasn’t found evidence of forced labor in its supply chain.

Among the seven Apple suppliers linked to suspected forced labor, Advanced-Connectek was the only one that operated in Xinjiang. The others, including Luxshare Precision Industry [...] operated elsewhere in China and received thousands of Uyghurs and other ethnic Muslim minorities as workers through state-run poverty alleviation programs. Human rights groups and Uyghur refugees say these programs are coercive; if the workers refuse to go along, they are sent to jail […]

Apple hasn’t publicly disclosed a complete list of the hundreds of suppliers it uses, so The Information separately confirmed through internal and public documents and current employees of these seven companies […]

In a statement for this article, Apple said that “looking for the presence of forced labor is part of every assessment we conduct in every country where we do business.” It added that “despite the restrictions of Covid-19, we undertook further investigations and found no evidence of forced labor anywhere we operate. We will continue doing all we can to protect workers and ensure they are treated with dignity and respect.”

In testimony to Congress in July of last year, Apple CEO Tim Cook said the company “wouldn’t tolerate” forced labor and “would terminate a supplier relationship if it were found.”

Apple, however, has been reluctant in the past to cut off suppliers for breaking other labor rules in its code of conduct for suppliers, such as using underage workers […]

In addition to working for Apple, the newly identified suppliers in China also worked on devices for dozens of Western brands, including Amazon, Google, Microsoft and Facebook. A Facebook spokesperson said the company, which designs tablets and virtual reality headsets produced in China, would never knowingly work with a supplier that used forced labor, and if it found evidence to support that conclusion, it would make a change. Amazon said it expects all items sold in its stores, including its own branded devices, to be made in accordance with its supply chain standards, and it would take action if it received any proof of forced labor. Spokespeople from Google and Microsoft didn’t have a comment […]

As many as hundreds of Xinjiang laborers were sent to Luxshare [...] Luxshare didn’t respond to multiple requests for comment. Shenzhen Deren Electronic Co [...] received more than 1,000 Xinjiang laborers in recent years, government statements show [...] Deren didn’t have a comment for this article. [...] a spokeswoman for the Taiwanese owner of Avary, said the company had never participated in any labor transfer programs, despite the official statements to the contrary. Avary employs a small number of Xinjiang workers, but the company doesn’t monitor them or restrict their movement, she said.

Apple told the newspaper it found that no Uyghur workers had been transferred to Lens Technology facilities [...] But [...] The Information found official Chinese TV news footage showing Uyghur workers participating in patriotic activities as part of a labor program at Lens [...] AcBel and Dongshan Precision didn’t have a comment. An online report by state-run media that said Dongshan Precision had received labor from Xinjiang was taken offline after The Information sent a link to the company and Apple [...] a spokesman for CN Innovations, said it currently has no Xinjiang employees, but he didn’t directly address the allegations [...] Lens [Technology] didn’t reply to multiple requests for comment [...] Advanced-Connectek said it bailed out of its factory near the detention center in December because “business development wasn’t as expected.” Few executives ever visited the site, according to Jimmy Chen, an Advanced-Connectek spokesman, and those visitors were unaware of the detention camp next door. Local officials described it to the executives as a vocational school or reeducation center, he said [...]