Amazon Blasted Over China Echo Factory Conditions
- China Labor Watch cites low pay, long hours, safety concerns
- Amazon says it identified concerns and is addressing them
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A watchdog group is calling on Amazon.com Inc. to improve conditions for factory workers in China who make Echo speakers and Kindle e-readers, renewing criticisms that CEO Jeff Bezos became the world’s wealthiest man on the backs of low-paid laborers.
The New York-based China Labor Watch released a report at the weekend following a nine-month investigation of working conditions at a factory in the city of Hengyang owned by Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., the company known as Foxconn, which manufactures products for Amazon. It offers the first behind-the-scenes glimpse of how Amazon produces voice-activated speakers that cost as little as $40.