Foxconn has enlisted the help of engineering students at the Xi’an Institute of Technology in China to keep up with PS4 production demand. In this instance, enlisted means they’re basically being blackmailed with their college degrees. It’s OK, greatness awaits!
The college is actually withholding enough credits from any students who don’t participate in the internship to prevent them from graduating. So, the students don’t have to take the internship, but there’s really no way around if if they ever want a degree.
It’s not a mandatory program. No. You just can’t graduate without it. No big deal. Participate or don’t. Whatever. But seriously, you have to. No pressure. Do it.
It’s hard to imagine what benefit working as a cog on an assembly line will have for an engineer’s future. Most students go to college to avoid that line of work. Also because college is the greatest.
For its part in the debacle, Foxconn investigated and found that violations were made in assigning the students night shifts and overtime. They promise that these oversights will be fixed and are quick to remind us that the students are there voluntarily and can leave at any time.
So, you know, it’s alright. They can go at any time as long as they’re not attached to that whole “degree” thing. The interns can voluntarily leave the same way you don’t have to go to work tomorrow. You can just stay home and maybe not get fired, dummy! Problem solved.
If it makes you feel any better about your expensive game console running on the dreams of exhausted college interns, they’re being paid as well as receiving credit. I’m sure that’s also entirely for the benefit of the students, and not because it’s cheaper to hire a student at entry level wages than an adult at a real salary.
So, yeah. Enjoy your PS4.
(via Engadget and Quartz, image via Stichting Onderzoek Multinationale Ondernemingen)
- This Samsung supplier is purported to employ children
- Oh wait, so is Foxconn
- Apple admits child labor is a problem, which is the first step, right?
