On January 2, more than 300 Foxconn employees threatened mass suicide after the company reniged on a compensated dismissal deal.
The workers, who manufactured Xbox 360 consoles at the Wuhan, China plant, had requested higher wages, citing poor working conditions as justification for their demands. The company had instead offered an alternative plan that would have paid out a lump sum to anyone who chose to leave, only to rescind the offer after many employees had quit.
In response, a group of more than 300 workers took to the roof of the building, threatening to jump unless the agreement was fulfilled. The following day, the mayor of Wuhan was called in to negotiate, and convinced the group not to jump.
Foxconn, which also manufactures products for Apple, Sony, and Nintendo, has frequently been in the headlines as a result of employee suicides. Critics of the company claim that the deaths are a direct response to the long hours and discrimination that employees are forced to endure.
In 2010, fourteen Foxconn workers committed suicide, all by jumping from rooftops or windows. In response, Foxconn increased wages, installed suicide-prevention netting on its building, and asked employees to sign no-suicide pledges.
Though the Foxconn suicides are notable as a form of organized protest, it's worth mentionting that the company's suicide rate remains less than half the Chinese national average. Furthermore, independent investigations have routinely concluded that the conditions at Foxconn plants, though harsh, are far from the worst in the country, and actually provide significant benefits to the workforce.