[PCWorld]

Post your comments for Foxconn considers expanding manufacturing in the US here

[KLanD]

Foxconn: We're thinking of opening up shop in the US.

Apple: Guess what everyone, We've "decided" to make some models in the US!

LMAO.

The $100million was probably the first contractual payment for their order from the new plant.

[thewazak]

Can't see Apple cutting its profit margin to compensate for higher costs.
This can only mean even higher prices for US built Macs.
I guess we will soon see just how "patriotic" Fanbois really are

So if we quickly see the headline "Foxconn leaving the US" - we will know!

[Lsatenstein]

The newer factories will be almost entirely robot driven. You can be assured that a few Chinese managerial jobs will be created, to oversee even fewer American jobs.

The robots will mean that there will be 24/7 manufacturing, with no overtime, no health, pension, vacation or other benefits.

The product quality will be uniform, and the costs lower, as there will be no overnight shipping as is done now. Shipments of components and raw materials will be by boat, or some low cost method.

[RONZUREK]

Do they know that the U.S. has abolished slavery?

[sac2112]

Hmmm...... We must be on our way to becoming a third world country. Thank you Mr. President.

[JohnathanSwift]

First folks complain cause Apple sends jobs overseas. Then they complain when they say they're going to start manufacturing stuff here in the U.S.
I say make up your minds or shut up!

[oldschoolh4ck3r]

Quote

The newer factories will be almost entirely robot driven. You can be assured that a few Chinese managerial jobs will be created, to oversee even fewer American jobs. The robots will mean that there will be 24/7 manufacturing, with no overtime, no health, pension, vacation or other benefits. The product quality will be uniform, and the costs lower, as there will be no overnight shipping as is done now. Shipments of components and raw materials will be by boat, or some low cost method.

Watch the movie 'The Campaign'? The antagonists talked about doing just that!

And hey, why not move overseas jobs back to the U.S.? There's plenty of slave labor here now that the banksters and corporations have wrecked the economy!

[MacNewton]

What a joke!

Not Apple, but most of you first responders to this report. If this was Microsoft, HP or Acer you would be telling a completely different story.

Can't you people see the good in anything? You should all be ashamed to be US citizens.

Now tell us the truth, your start work next year on assembly line making iPhones!

[Hologram]

Quote

Foxconn: We're thinking of opening up shop in the US. Apple: Guess what everyone, We've "decided" to make some models in the US! LMAO. The $100million was probably the first contractual payment for their order from the new plant.

Putting aside your blanket disapproval of anything and everything Apple does, what exactly about this insourcing announcement are you upset over?

Sounds like you're disappointed that the the sign over the front door might say Foxconn instead of Apple. The people who will get to work there will likely not be as fussy.

[Hologram]

KLanD, on 08 December 2012 - 10:19 AM, said:

Foxconn: We're thinking of opening up shop in the US.

Apple: Guess what everyone, We've "decided" to make some models in the US!

LMAO.

The $100million was probably the first contractual payment for their order from the new plant.

...ooops, I didn't mean to give you a +1. Hit the wrong button.

I'm sorry if that causes any embarrassment vis a vis your peers.

[Hologram]

Lsatenstein, on 08 December 2012 - 03:11 PM, said:

The newer factories will be almost entirely robot driven. You can be assured that a few Chinese managerial jobs will be created, to oversee even fewer American jobs.

The robots will mean that there will be 24/7 manufacturing, with no overtime, no health, pension, vacation or other benefits.

The product quality will be uniform, and the costs lower, as there will be no overnight shipping as is done now. Shipments of components and raw materials will be by boat, or some low cost method.

I doubt the final assembly will be fully automated. The warehousing and most of the parts delivery system to assembly stations will likely be automated.

Likewise, any machining, board stuffing and many primary assembly operations will definitely be automated although I doubt that those operations will be repatriated.

Assembly automation and robotics are fine for a good number of tasks but become subject to the laws of diminishing returns as the task to be automated requires the manual dexterity and rapid adaptation to changes a human can offer at what is still a very competitive cost, even in America.

Just look at any of the CKD (complete knock down) automotive facilities which have sprung up not only in America but around the globe. Many of the final assembly tasks still require humans, although heavily assisted by automated devices for a number of reasons.

While CKD plants might offer some financial and time to market advantages for the manufacturers, one of their main attractions is that they add local content to the finished product in terms of man-hours, thus reducing the impact of import duties and tariffs on the products they offer for sale.

To fully automate Apple's final assembly in order to achieve 24/7, unattended, lights out operation would cost significantly more than $100M, even for a relatively small facility. It would also mostly negate the insourcing benefit to Apple of claiming any significant local content, namely man-hours.

This post has been edited by Hologram: 09 December 2012 - 08:44 AM

[thewazak]

Quote

First folks complain cause Apple sends jobs overseas. Then they complain when they say they're going to start manufacturing stuff here in the U.S. I say make up your minds or shut up!

Who is complaining?
All I see is people correctly noting Apple's hypocrisy and opportunism!

I say learn to understand what you are reading - or shut up!

[Hologram]

Quote

First folks complain cause Apple sends jobs overseas. Then they complain when they say they're going to start manufacturing stuff here in the U.S. I say make up your minds or shut up!

Quote

Who is complaining? All I see is people correctly noting Apple's hypocrisy and opportunism! I say learn to understand what you are reading - or shut up!

... oh crap! Another +1 in error. The recommend button is way to close to the reply button.

So, you're complaining about Apple's "hypocrisy and opportunism". Would you care to expand?

Re: "...learn to understand what you are reading - or shut up!".

So tell us, oh wise one, what is is you are so uniquely qualified to understand and which you believe remains a mystery to the rest of us.

This post has been edited by Hologram: 09 December 2012 - 12:26 PM

[WallsTalking]

Major advantages in manufacturing in the U.S.
-Bring new technology to the market much quicker.
-More control over copyright infringements.
-Bring quality control to U.S. soil.
-Keep Samsung as far away from Apple manufacturing as possible.
-Made in the U.S.A.
-After travel costs, shipment costs, lost sales due to delays, infringements, and quality control issues; it has already been proven that it can be cheaper to go ahead and make it in the U.S.A. while paying their workers better.

[KLanD]

Hologram, on 09 December 2012 - 07:57 AM, said:

Quote

Foxconn: We're thinking of opening up shop in the US. Apple: Guess what everyone, We've "decided" to make some models in the US! LMAO. The $100million was probably the first contractual payment for their order from the new plant.

Putting aside your blanket disapproval of anything and everything Apple does, what exactly about this insourcing announcement are you upset over?

Sounds like you're disappointed that the the sign over the front door might say Foxconn instead of Apple. The people who will get to work there will likely not be as fussy.

Blanket disapproval?? lol.. talk about reading too deeply.

I posted 2 facts and made a jokingly sarcastic connection between the two.

I'm not disappointed over anything, I just find Apple spin amusing.

[KLanD]

Hologram, on 09 December 2012 - 08:13 AM, said:

KLanD, on 08 December 2012 - 10:19 AM, said:

Foxconn: We're thinking of opening up shop in the US.

Apple: Guess what everyone, We've "decided" to make some models in the US!

LMAO.

The $100million was probably the first contractual payment for their order from the new plant.

...ooops, I didn't mean to give you a +1. Hit the wrong button.

I'm sorry if that causes any embarrassment vis a vis your peers.

LMAO! embarrassment?

You act like this is high school and we're all in clicks.

[KLanD]

Hologram, on 09 December 2012 - 12:22 PM, said:

Quote

First folks complain cause Apple sends jobs overseas. Then they complain when they say they're going to start manufacturing stuff here in the U.S. I say make up your minds or shut up!

Quote

Who is complaining? All I see is people correctly noting Apple's hypocrisy and opportunism! I say learn to understand what you are reading - or shut up!

... oh crap! Another +1 in error. The recommend button is way to close to the reply button.

So, you're complaining about Apple's "hypocrisy and opportunism". Would you care to expand?

Re: "...learn to understand what you are reading - or shut up!".

So tell us, oh wise one, what is is you are so uniquely qualified to understand and which you believe remains a mystery to the rest of us.

Just re-read my first comment, it expresses the (possible) "hypocrisy and opportunism" perfectly imo.. (but then again, I am biased since I did write it.)

[KLanD]

WallsTalking, on 11 December 2012 - 08:14 AM, said:

Major advantages in manufacturing in the U.S.
-Bring new technology to the market much quicker.
-More control over copyright infringements.
-Bring quality control to U.S. soil.
-Keep Samsung as far away from Apple manufacturing as possible.
-Made in the U.S.A.
-After travel costs, shipment costs, lost sales due to delays, infringements, and quality control issues; it has already been proven that it can be cheaper to go ahead and make it in the U.S.A. while paying their workers better.

- I doubt it.
- Not really, where you make it doesn't really matter, it's where you sell it.
- Are you implying that Apple's quality has been lacking?
- Since a lot of components are made by Samsung, some even in the US, I can't see that happening.
- If that really matters to you.
- I haven't seen any evidence of any of that, but whatever, time will tell.

[Hologram]

KLanD, on 14 December 2012 - 07:44 AM, said:

Hologram, on 09 December 2012 - 12:22 PM, said:

Quote

First folks complain cause Apple sends jobs overseas. Then they complain when they say they're going to start manufacturing stuff here in the U.S. I say make up your minds or shut up!

Quote

Who is complaining? All I see is people correctly noting Apple's hypocrisy and opportunism! I say learn to understand what you are reading - or shut up!

... oh crap! Another +1 in error. The recommend button is way to close to the reply button.

So, you're complaining about Apple's "hypocrisy and opportunism". Would you care to expand?

Re: "...learn to understand what you are reading - or shut up!".

So tell us, oh wise one, what is is you are so uniquely qualified to understand and which you believe remains a mystery to the rest of us.

Just re-read my first comment, it expresses the (possible) "hypocrisy and opportunism" perfectly imo.. (but then again, I am biased since I did write it.)

The only hypocrisy and opportunism I see is yours. You made three statements and an opportunistic attempt to connect them into a negative spin.

Had someone argued that it was disadvantageous for Apple to re-establish manufacturing in the US you would probably have been all over them trying to prove how Apple was wrong to keep manufacturing overseas.

Would you agree that Samsung's decision to manufacture in the US might just be good business, on several levels? Was Samsung hypocritical and opportunistic in setting up shop in Austin?

I can think of many reasons why it would be advantageous not only for Apple, but many other manufacturers to set up manufacturing in the US again, not to mention the advantages for workers and consumers.

I'm equally sure that, for the sake of argument, you can find just as many to prove I'm wrong.

For the record, yes, it does matter to me that something is Made in the USA, or Germany or Italy, Spain, Portugal, France, Canada, Brazil or even Hong Kong. You, of course, are free to not care.

This post has been edited by Hologram: 16 December 2012 - 07:49 PM