@Chris Miller - what makes the suicide rate at Foxconn so low
Probably the biggest factor that led to improvement was all the attention that the issue got a few years ago. The negative publicity for Apple and Foxconn forced changes, and even though the suicide nets got all the press the addition of counselors is likely what drove the rate down so much. Most of these Foxconn employees are far from family and friends, and the ones who are troubled and most at risk of suicide may also have trouble forming new friendships leaving them without anyone to talk to - until Foxconn talked to their employees about suicide and asked those who were troubled to talk to counselors without any fear of reprisal.
At this point, instead of hand wringing about "heartless" people who call this one suicide a "statistic" and comparing Apple to Sauron, maybe the Reg should try to be a force for good and dig up some statistics for factories that make Dell laptops, or Linksys routers, or boards that go into your DVR. Demand they all make the same changes that Foxconn was forced to make. That would save far more lives than eliminating the last few suicides at the Foxconn plant would.
But of course the Reg, smelling blood in the water from Apple's recent stock price correction, is getting back onto the "peak Apple" and Apple is the root of all evil bandwagons, preferring to win clicks by baiting fanboys than by actually doing something positive that might get them some attention and some readership outside their narrow geek niche.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
