7 Apple suppliers in China have links to forced labor programs, including the use of Uyghur Muslims from Xinjiang, according to a new report.
An investigation by The Information discovered that seven of Apple’s suppliers are connected to forced labor of Uyghur Muslims in China. The minority Uyghur Muslim population is being persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the conflict was recognized by former US President Donald Trump as a genocide.
According to a report by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, over 80 companies are profiting off of the forced labor of Uyghurs in internment camps operated by the CCP. According to the report, only one Apple supplier is located in the predominantly Uyghur region of Xinjiang. However, workers were shipped from Xinjiang to companies such as Luxshare, one of Apple’s biggest Chinese suppliers.
The report states that between 2019 and 2020, Avary Holding, a company that produces circuit boards for Apple in the city of Huai’an, brought in 400 Xinjiang laborers. Shenzhen Deren Electronic, a company that produces antennas and internal cables, brought in 1000 new workers from Xinjiang. Both supplies denied the report and have yet to release a public statement. Apple has previously denied using slave labor.
In a report from December on the use of slave labor by Lens Technology, a company that produces glass for iPhones, the supplier allegedly brought in 600 workers since 2018. In a statement denying the report, Apple claimed they have “zero tolerance for forced labor.”