Case Study: Forced Overtime In Apple's Manufacturers

Forced Overtime in Apple’s Manufacturers: A Systematic Issue

Despite Apple’s responses following the public outrage against labor laws violation in 2012, allegations of continuing forced overtime in Apple’s Chinese manufacturers have reemerged because existing solutions do not address the root causes of the issue. Forced overtime is embedded in Apple’s supply chain management and profit maximization strategies and is thus a constant barrier for Apple to fully commit to its corporate social responsibility.

Apple’s supply chain management strategy indirectly creates the need for forced overtime. In 1998, Apple streamlined its suppliers down to 24 from 100 while cutting down production lead time by half and maintaining only two days’ worth of inventory (Procurious, 2015). This lean supply chain requires high production flexibility; Apple demands “tens of thousands...[of products to]…be produced each day in less than a week’s notice” (Myers & Fellow,

While this initiative will increase costs, currently labor costs make up only 4% of Apple’s revenues and so the resulting decrease of margins will still allow Apple to enjoy substantial profits well above its competitors’ (China Labor Watch, 2015). Following the employment of more workers, Apple should work together with its overseas partners to determine the optimal number of shifts and the lengths of shift to ensure highest productive efficiency without overworking workers. In the best case scenario, the higher cost of production can be offset with higher worker’s productivity due to optimum work shift arrangement. Theoretically, sufficient additional workers can effectively end the need for forced overtime, but Apple should still rigorously monitor manufacturers during peak season to ensure that this expansion of labor force truly contributes to lesser instances of forced