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Nokia said: “We have contacted Foxconn to ensure any issues are identified and addressed.”
Dell said: “Any reports of poor working conditions in Dell's supply chain are investigated and, if warranted, appropriate action is taken.”
Other Hon Hai customers, including Motorola and Nintendo, made similar statements.
Such audits generally involve visual checks of the facilities and interviews with employees that companies say are designed to keep them free from management intimidation.
It would be difficult, though not impossible, for companies to extract Hon Hai from their supply chains, and so far none has suggesting that this is under consideration.
While there are other contract manufacturers, Hon Hai has made itself integral in their manufacturing processes - not to mention its ability to juggle secretive product launches from various clients without divulging secrets.
The deaths at Hon Hai have defied explanation. Their pattern resembles what psychologists call a “suicide cluster”, where one suicide triggers copycat acts, sometimes seen in schools or groups of young people.
Other companies have experienced suicide waves. France Telecom SA, which has around 180,000 staffers, has been under scrutiny after 35 suicides in 2008 and 2009, and another 13 this year.
Amid widening public concern, Chinese government officials have said they are looking into the deaths at Hon Hai but, so far, authorities have suggested no wrongdoing by the company.
Labour-rights activists say the deaths demonstrate problems with the way Hon Hai treats its staff. Workers are paid a base salary of 900 yuan ($160) a month, the legal minimum wage, but most work overtime, which can pay 1.5 times or more the standard hourly rate.
Critics say Hon Hai compels or allows employees to work more than the legal number of overtime hours, and that its military-style rigour and repetitive working conditions create excessive stress on workers.
Still, the labour...
