Electronics manufacturer Foxconn, is set to open a new fabrication plant in Indonesia, that will purportedly cost around a billion dollars to build. However once created, it's said that it will open up a million jobs for the local inhabitants.
This would be a welcome investment in the region, where average monthly wages of workers are around $100. While Foxconn hardly has the greatest employee satisfaction record, it has improved its practices over the past year and raised its average wage for workers in facilities in China.
“We are looking forward to establish a new manufacturing plant in Indonesia, although nothing is finalised yet,” said a Foxconn representative in a statement (via GamesIndustry). “This will help us in manufacturing good quality products and make them available in the markets at lower prices. With this, Indonesians will also get better employment opportunities. We will continue our efforts in establishing more manufacturing plants across the globe.”
While Foxconn has continued to do business with companies like Apple, it has a long way to go on improving its public image. Over the past few years, a spate of suicides and accidents at Foxconn facilities raised international ire and drew investigations from regulatory bodies.
KitGuru Says: As long as Foxconn takes some of the lessons learned with poor working standards at its Chinese facilities to heart, the Indonesian investment could be a good one. Lets just hope that the region isn't seen as a newly exploitable one with its rapidly growing economy.