Apple May Be Held Liable for Pegatron Plant Explosion

After investigating the explosion that occurred last week at a Pegatron factory, Sterne Agee analyst Shaw Wu concluded that iPad 2 production would not be affected much. China Labor Watch, however, believes the affected workers should be the topic of discussion right now.

Weighing in on the incident that occurred in Shanghai's Songjiang industrial park at an iPad 2 polishing factory on December 17, Shaw Wu, an analyst with Sterne Agee, said that the risk of disruption to Apple's supply chain is minimal.

Wu specifically stated, "It's a setback but it's relatively minor," outlining for the mass media that Pegatron was not exactly a first-tier supplier for Apple. The Cupertino technology giant mostly relies on Foxconn to produce its iPads and iPhones.

And, as many Apple fans will remember, a similar explosion occurring at a Foxconn plant in May this year ended with the iPad supply being only mildly affected.

"The Foxconn (Chengdu) explosion was a much bigger deal but still they were able to work around it fairly quickly," said Wu.

An Apple spokeswoman in China, Carolyn Wu, told the press this week that Apple would aid investigations into this matter and that the company was deeply sorrowed by the events unfolding at Shanghai's Songjiang industrial park on December 17.

"Our hearts go out to the people who were hurt in Songjiang. We are working closely with Pegatron to understand the cause of this accident," Apple spokeswoman Carolyn Wu said.

However, there’s an even greater issue at heart here, according to Li Qiang, the executive director of China Labor Watch. Qiang believes Apple is sacrificing the Chinese work force to get high profit.

“Apple should be held liable for the all the accidents happening in its suppliers’ factory in China,” Qiang said, according to a report issued by China Labor Watch on December 19.

“China Labor Watch has written many letters to Apple concerning the labor rights in China but never received response from Apple,” the group said.