Preface

Vietnam's mobile phone shipment rate has surprisingly surpassed India, reaching the second place globally, and even posing a threat to China!

Ever since Foxconn's situation in Henan became difficult, it turned to Yunnan for development. Unexpectedly, it has thrived in Vietnam as if it were "like a fish in water."

What exactly is going on here? Does it seem like "Henan has fallen out of favor, while Vietnam has gained favor"?

Nowadays, Foxconn is developing better and better in Vietnam, even investing a staggering 2.7 billion to build a new factory.

Did we make a mistake by choosing to let Foxconn leave China?

The True Face of Electronics Factories

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Foxconn, the "big brother" in the mobile phone manufacturing industry, may hold a top position globally.

However, at its core, Foxconn is just an electronics factory, and all electronics factories have a flaw: they exploit their workers.

Currently, various electronics factories are hiring, and the number of college graduates and high school graduates sent to these factories every year is countless.They are not only able to collaborate directly with schools, but they also have intermediaries all over the country.

Moreover, there are many things that you only find out when you actually arrive at an electronics factory, where the working conditions are nothing like other workplaces.

In most electronics factories, employees are required to work a 12-hour shift each day. They wake up at 7 am, wash their faces, eat breakfast, and then wait for the shuttle bus to go to work.

Upon arriving at the factory, it's a daily routine of repetitive work, performing the same tasks over and over again for 12 hours before they can leave, with breaks only allowing for a quick meal.

From 8 in the morning until 8 at night, by the time they return to their dormitories, they are so exhausted that they have no appetite for dinner.

They can fall asleep almost instantly, and as soon as they open their eyes, they have to repeat the same day as before, with no hope or anticipation in their daily lives.

You can clearly see in the eyes of those who work in electronics factories that there is no longer any light in them.

Sometimes, tears are mixed with their time, but there's nothing that can be done about it.

This is because most people who enter the electronics factories to work are those who didn't perform well in school, lack a formal education, or have no particular skills.

And because electronics factories require a 12-hour workday, the pay is relatively higher, which can also improve their living conditions to some extent.However, long-time employees at the factory have already become numb inside, living their days without any hope.

College students take summer jobs and earn six to seven thousand yuan in a month; they have a goal, which is to buy a computer or a new phone once they have the money.

This is working with a purpose, and that purpose drives them. However, long-term employees at the electronics factory are not the same; they no longer have things they want to buy.

What they desire might only be more of their own life.

The real reason why Foxconn cannot stay in China and has to move to Vietnam is quite simple: the general level of education in China has increased, and many people are no longer willing to work in electronics factories.

Moreover, Foxconn's reputation has not been very good recently; it can be said to be completely "black red," but no matter what, black red is still red.

Foxconn has a total of 610 factories worldwide, with 296 factories in China alone, accounting for 48.53%.

Originally, Foxconn relied on "Made in Henan," but looking at Foxconn's export amount in the first quarter of this year, it has decreased by a staggering 58%!

The import and export volume has directly decreased by 48.68 billion yuan, which shows that Foxconn's focus is no longer on Henan but has shifted to Vietnam.

Now, Vietnam's exports of mobile phones and components have taken off, surpassing India and approaching China!Why is Vietnam so formidable, and is it really China's turn to regret now?

The Rise of Vietnam

The primary reason why Foxconn can achieve such success in Vietnam is due to the local cheap labor force.

Vietnam's average level of education is not high, so people are generally willing to work for money, and many electronics factories prefer to set up factories in Vietnam because of the abundance of cheap labor.

Electronics factories always require a large number of employees, and the wages of these employees are a significant part of the cost. To increase profits, reducing the cost of labor is also a top priority.

For instance, the current producers of Apple smartphones have invested over $116 billion in Vietnam over the past five years.

Moreover, Apple's top ten suppliers all have factories in Vietnam, and this year Foxconn plans to invest an additional $2.7 billion to build a new factory in Vietnam.

Last year, they had already invested $1.8 billion in Vietnam. These factors have directly led to a surge in Vietnam's exports of mobile phones and components, reaching $162.7 billion!

There are a total of 31 Apple producers in Vietnam, and the number of workers employed by them is as high as 160,000.The current situation in Vietnam can be described as very promising, with numerous electronics factories eager to expand into the country. This not only provides employment opportunities for the Vietnamese people but also drives the economic development of Vietnam.

It is worth noting that during the peak period of our country, we accounted for 80% of the global mobile phone production capacity, which could be said to be almost monopolistic.

However, in recent years, there has been a continuous downward trend, dropping from the original 80% to 60%, and it is uncertain how the future will unfold.

Electronics factories like Foxconn, although they have brought hope to many uneducated and unskilled people, were once referred to as "sweatshops" when the Apple iPhone was first released, specifically the "iPhone 5S."

At that time, Apple was a global sensation, and everyone was eagerly awaiting the launch of the "iPhone 5S." Meanwhile, at "Wuxi Foxconn," the workers, with red eyes from exhaustion, were working overtime.

All this was to ensure that the Apple "iPhone 5S" could be successfully launched and not run out of stock.

According to workers who were employed at Foxconn at the time, the factory was filled with young people around the age of 20 because their bodies could endure the grueling work.

They had to work a full 12 hours each day, not just be present in the factory for 12 hours, but spend over ten hours continuously staring at the unchanging assembly line, repeating the same motion with their hands.

Their eyes were lifeless and hollow, like robots, relying on their willpower to repeat the work in their hands. Moreover, there was no room for distraction on the assembly line, as any lapse in attention would make it impossible to proceed to the next step in the manufacturing process.The workday at that time was based on a set production quota; each person had to complete a certain amount of work before they could leave for the day. For the veteran employees, it was manageable as they could generally finish within a 12-hour shift and then go home to rest.

However, new employees were not familiar with the work, and they might have to work for fifteen or sixteen hours to complete their tasks. After returning home from work, they would need to sleep quickly because if they didn't rest well, they would not be able to work the next day.

Upon waking, they would continue from where they left off the previous day, performing the same repetitive motions, like machines in operation.