News 

Foxconn said that the report was a vicious attack on the company and that there are huge discrepancies between the truth and the newspaper's allegations.

The Mail on Sunday claimed that Foxconn employees were working in 'slave' conditions, with one plant near Shenzhen employing 200,000 people, who worked 15 hour days for $50 per

ADVERTISEMENT

month and lived 100 to a room in company dormitories.

But Edmund Ding, a spokesman for Foxconn, noted that the company only has 160,000 employees in total. He said that the company abides by local employment law which stipulates a minimum wage of the equivalent of $101.

He added that the company also has been improving workers' living conditions, providing safe and well-equipped dormitories complete with free laundry service, sports facilities, libraries and other facilities.

Apple has launched an investigation into the allegations. Foxconn may also find itself in hot water over a claim by its chairman that Apple is readying a new iPod. Apple has shown in the past that it has little patience with anyone who leaks information about future products.