By Aries Poon
TAIPEI--Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. (2317.TW), a key supplier
of Apple Inc. (AAPL) and Nokia Corp. (NOK), said Friday that it has
been constantly evaluating options to build more manufacturing
plants in the U.S. but has no specific imminent plan.
The comment from Hon Hai, also known as Foxconn, came after
Apple's Chief Executive Tim Cook told Bloomberg and NBC News that
the Cupertino, Calif.-based company had earmarked more than $100
million for next year to build Mac computers in the U.S.
Apple, the world's most valuable company, has faced political
pressure to bring jobs home and reduce its reliance on foreign
subcontractors, whose treatment of workers has come under harsh
scrutiny.
Hon Hai spokesman Louis Woo told the Wall Street Journal Friday:
"We are always looking at increasing our presence in the U.S.,
always working with our customers. It's a continuous review. We
don't have imminent plans to build new plants over there."
Currently, Hon Hai has factories in California and Texas, which
employ around 3,000 workers, Mr. Woo said, but declined to mention
the products being produced there.
The size of its American operation is a tiny fraction of its
main production base in China, where it employs 1.5 million workers
across the country.
Apple has taken heat from human rights groups for safety
incidents and high working hours in factories where their products
are assembled, prompting Mr. Cook to invest in improvements.
He has also publicly lamented the loss of manufacturing skills
in the U.S. and played down the odds of bringing the bulk of
production back from Asia, where years of investment have created
sophisticated networks of parts suppliers and factories with
specialized production tools.
Hon Hai Chairman Terry Gou said last month that he plans to
recruit some engineers from the U.S. to work at his plants in China
and train them on production knowhow, and then send them back to
work in the U.S.
Write to Aries Poon at aries.poon@dowjones.com