Terry Gou, chairman of Taipei-based Hon Hai, Foxconn’s parent company, called his employees animals at a recent company party, according to Want China Times. Foxconn makes many of the devices Western consumers use, such as the iPhone and the Kindle.
“Hon Hai has a workforce of over one million worldwide,” he said, “and as human beings are also animals, to manage one million animals gives me a headache.”
Foxconn has seen multiple suicides and a threat of mass suicide due to working conditions.
According to Want China Time:
“(He added) that he wants to learn from Chin Shih-chien, director of Taipei Zoo, regarding how animals should be managed. Gou not only invited Chin to take part in his company’s annual review meeting but also asked all general managers in the group to listen to Chin’s lecture… on how to manage different animals according to their individual temperaments.”
Said another executive, “It’s a tough job to manage a workforce of over one million, young people’s hearts in China are hard to get hold of.”
Especially when your aspiration is to eventually learn how to treat them as well as animals.
Gou photo by Dilma Roussef
