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Following the announcement by Apple CEO Tim Cook that the firm plans to move some manufacturing to the US, the move has been labelled as just a publicity stunt.
During an interview on American news network NBC, Cook revealed that one of the company’s existing Mac lines would begin to be manufactured within the United States from next year.
However, the CEO did not reveal which of the firm’s product lines would have its manufacturing process moved to the states, staying close to Apple’s well-known profile of complete secrecy.
Following the news, many have been quick to counter the comments, labelling them as nothing more than a PR stunt by the company.
Taren Stinebrickner-Kauffman of corporate watchdog SumOfUs, said: "Apple has a track record of announcing changes in its supply chain as PR stunts. For years, Apple’s been making and breaking promises when it comes to ethical sourcing and how it treats its workers."
"This spring Apple’s biggest supplier published a far-reaching report that promised to make massive changes in how Apple products are made over the course of this year — and yet we’ve seen no virtually improvement in workers’ lives."
These comments likely refer to the well-publicised troubles that occurred at a Foxconn factory in China earlier this year, where over 2,000 workers were involved in a riot, which left 40 people injured.
The firm has come under heavy fire for the working conditions of its factories across the country, with employees citing bad living environments, which have caused a number of suicides.
“Apple has spent $650 million just on advertising for the iPhone alone since it launched. They’re talking about spending less than 20% of that on this shift. They’re talking about moving 1/10th of 1 per cent of their global production costs," added Kauffman.
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