Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) is investigating a report indicating that its Chinese supplier is using child labor to manufacture its smart devices powered by Alexa.
Foxconn’s factory in Hengyang, China employed teenage workers classified as interns, who were recruited from schools and technical colleges. They were working night shifts and overtime to meet its production targets for Amazon’s Echo, Echo Dot and Kindle products. The factory was paying the teachers who encouraged and accompanied the interns to work and supplement staffing levels during peak production periods, according to The Guardian based on documents leaked by the Chinese supplier’s employees.
In a statement to the media outlet, Foxconn admitted that Hengyang factory employed students and it took immediate action to ensure that the situation will not happen again.
“We have doubled the oversight and monitoring of the internship program with each relevant partner school to ensure that, under no circumstances, will interns [be] allowed to work overtime or nights,” said Foxconn.
