Foxconn Electronics, the manufacturing giant best known for making Apple's iPhone and iPad, is reportedly looking to set up shop in the U.S.
The Taiwanese company, which has come under fire in recent years over labor rights issues, is currently evaluating the possibility of setting up shop in several U.S. cities such as Detroit and Los Angeles, according to Digitimes, which cited unnamed "market watchers." The rumored U.S. plants won't be manufacturing iDevices, however. Making those products is a rather complicated endeavor, the newspaper reported, so the U.S. plants will instead focus on LCD TV production, an easier and highly automated job.
As for the likelihood of this coming to pass, we'll just have to wait and see. Digitimes stories should sometimes be taken with a grain of salt. Time columnist Harry McCracken recently fact-checked 25 of the paper's tech stories and reported that "16 of these 25 stories turned out to be mostly or completely off-base. Five are largely or entirely correct. And four involve predictions that might yet come true."
Meanwhile, Foxconn chairman Terry Guo reportedly said at a recent public event that the company is putting together a training program for U.S.-based engineers. As part of the program, U.S. workers would be sent to Foxconn facilities in Taiwan or China to take part in the company's product design and manufacturing process, Digitimes said. The engineers would have time to learn the Chinese language, and get first-hand manufacturing experience.
The company is reportedly in discussions with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) about such a program.
Foxconn as of late hasn't exactly been depicted as a wonderful place to work, with various groups accusing the firm of worker abuses. Earlier this year, Apple ordered an audit of the Foxconn factories that produce its products, which showed excessive overtime and unsafe working conditions. Over the summer, it was reported that Foxconn was taking steps to rectify the problems.
Last month, however, a labor rights group reported that thousands of workers on the iPhone 5 production line at Foxconn's Zhengzhou factory went on strike amidst overly burdensome quality control demands. Even more recently, Foxconn admitted to hiring underage interns, a violation of China's labor law.
Update: In a statement, Foxconn Technology Group said the company already has multiple facilities based in the U.S. and there are no current plans to expand operations here at this time.
"We can confirm that at a business forum in Taipei on Wednesday, our Chairman and CEO, Mr. Terry Gou, discussed the possibility of Foxconn providing opportunities for engineers in the US to visit the company's facilities in China for technical exchanges as part of a larger program to further develop and promote automation in the manufacturing sector," the statement said. "Mr. Gou shared this as a preliminary concept that Foxconn will be considering in the months ahead."