On January 25, the New York Times published a report focussing on the on the working conditions of overseas Apple employees.The report quoted several former and present day executives saying that Apple's sole focus was on profitability, and that it was closing its eyes on the huge mismanagement of employees in China and other Asian countries which supply it's products.
One of the executives had the following to say:
"Тhe system works for us. Suppliers would change everything tomorrow if Apple told them they didn't have another choice."
Apple's CEO Tim Cook, had the following to say in response to the report.
"Any suggestion that we don’t care is patently false and offensive to us. As you know better than anyone, accusations like these are contrary to our values. It’s not who we are,"
This has since sparked discussions and opinions on Apple's relationship with it's suppliers. Some stating that Apple maintains higher standards in the way it treats it's employees while others argued that that wasn't enough.
These discussions resulted in an online petition which demands that the new iPhone 5 be made ethically. The petition has a goal of reaching 50,000 supporters and currently stands at 40,000. So if you agree that Apple should treat its employees better and have improved ethical standards on how products are manufactured voice your opinion here.