A new investigation by China Labor Watch accuses Apple of failing to address widespread labor abuses at Foxconn’s Zhengzhou plant, one of its most important iPhone manufacturing hubs. The report claims that six years after similar findings were published in 2019, many of the same violations persist and some have worsened.
The 2025 study points to excessive overtime, withheld wages, and forced night shifts during the March to September production cycle of the iPhone 17. Researchers say conditions remain harsh despite Apple’s repeated promises to enforce higher standards at its supplier facilities.
While investigators found no underage workers this time, a problem documented in 2019 they say that is the only significant improvement. Most other concerns, from wage practices to discrimination, remain unresolved.
Six Years On, Core Problems Persist
China Labor Watch says Apple has not fixed long running issues at Foxconn’s Zhengzhou plant, a key iPhone hub. The new 2025 investigation finds many practices from 2019 still in play and, in some areas, worse.
Researchers describe a peak season marked by 60 to 75 hour workweeks, withheld pay, and forced night shifts while the iPhone 17 ramped up from March to September. They argue that Apple’s oversight has not translated into lasting change on the factory floor.
One bright spot exists. Investigators did not find underage workers in 2025, unlike the vocational school minors documented in 2019. They call that the lone clear improvement.
Key Findings from the Report
- Excessive overtime: Most workers logged 60 to 75 hours per week, above China’s legal limit and Apple’s 60 hour cap.
- Wage withholding: A deferred pay structure left some temporary workers without weeks of overtime if they resigned before a cutoff date.
- Illegal employment practices: Temporary dispatch workers made up more than half the workforce, alleged to be five times the legal limit.
- Coerced student labor: Students were allegedly pushed into night shifts for low pay.
- Discrimination: Hiring reportedly excluded multiple ethnic groups.
- Unsafe conditions: Reports of chemical exposure without adequate protective equipment.
- Harassment and intimidation: Workers who complained faced surveillance, threats, and public exposure of personal information.
Base wages reportedly remain where they were in 2019 at 2,100 to 2,400 RMB, rising to about 3,000 RMB with overtime and bonuses.
Apple’s Response
Apple said it is firmly committed to the highest standards of labor, human rights, environmental and ethical conduct. The company said suppliers must provide safe working conditions, treat workers with dignity and respect, act fairly and ethically, and use environmentally responsible practices wherever they make products or perform services for Apple.
Apple said it conducts regular third party audits and investigates reported issues. It said teams were on site and started an immediate investigation in this case.
Apple highlighted broader oversight. In 2024, it conducted 1,514 audits across its supply chain and interviewed more than 74,000 supplier employees. Of ten core violations it logged, nine involved falsified working hours data and one involved machine safety practices.
For iPhone Production
The Zhengzhou complex still anchors global iPhone output, employing about 150,000 to 200,000 workers during peak months, according to the report. Investigators documented Apple staff on site and argue that presence suggests awareness of conditions.
Apple has diversified some production. The company expanded iPhone assembly in India in 2025 to serve most US demand and reduce tariff exposure on Chinese exports.
China Labor Watch concludes that many systemic issues it flagged in 2019 remain in place in 2025. It acknowledges a modest improvement in total overtime in some units and the absence of underage workers.
Apple and child labor is okay as long as they make their trillions of profits… now up to 4 Trillion and on the backs of the poor who work 65-70 hours a week. Where are all these college kids protesting… nowhere to be found.