A group of about 300 employees at a Foxconn plant in Wuhan, China that makes Xbox 360s threatened to kill themselves last week after being denied compensation promised to them by the company, according to reports.
Foxconn, a subsidiary of Hon Hai Precision Industry, makes computer and electronics products for such high-profile customers as Apple, Hewlett-Packard, Dell, and Sony, among others.
Suicide at Foxconn has been a serious problem in the past. At least 14 Foxconn workers in plants in the Chinese cities of Shenzen and Chengdu have taken their own lives since a string of worker suicides began in early 2010. And this past May, a large explosion at the Chengdu plant killed three people and wounded more than a dozen.
Such incidents have shined the spotlight on harsh working conditions within the company. According to the watchdog group Students & Scholars Against Corporate Misbehavior, which traveled to two of Foxconn's factories to interview workers, conditions at several of the company’s China facilities are unsafe, military-like, and drive workers to despair and suicide.
Foxconn has even forced employees to sign a pledge promising that they won't commit suicide and installed nets outside factory dormitories to deter potential jumpers.
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