Quote:
Originally Posted by iJeff
Suppliers often establish facilities specifically for the company contracting their labour. Apple and Microsoft don't own Foxconn, but some of those Foxconn facilities are spitting out their products virtually exclusively.
Contracting out doesn't really absolve you of blame. They chose the cheapest supplier often knowing full well that they're achieving those price points by hiring less than ideal labour at low wages. This isn't unusual, but just because they're contracted out, that doesn't mean Subaru isn't failing to behave more ethically.
In this context, they're being brought in and paid much less than a Japanese worker would. I think it would be less of an issue if they were paid the same wages in the Philippines or mainland China.
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I agree its unethical, but who shares a greater portion of the blame? The article mentions that these suppliers do business with all the other major car companies in Japan, so why single out Subaru specifically?
Its a bit of chicken and egg - If Subaru/Nissan/Toyota/Honda/Whatever weren't looking for the cheapest solution, would these places exist?
I don't like the response from ANY of the car manufacturers they talked to. They all passed the buck, with the exception of Honda, who didn't even respond. They should really take a little more responsibility.
Having said that, we can't just say "they KNEW this was going on" without some sort of evidence to the contrary. Right now, we're talking about guilt by association. If I sell my car to someone, and a month later he kills somebody in a drunk driving accident, am I guilty too? Personally, I think they likely knew it was going on, but we just don't know that. Obviously, they do know now.