Last but not least: New Apple chief reacts sensitively to criticism

In the employee email, Cook expressed his outrage at the accusation made by the New York Times. According to SDA, the newspaper wrote on Thursday about poor working conditions at Apple suppliers in China. Among other things, former Apple managers were quoted as saying anonymously that the company sometimes turns a blind eye for the sake of profit. Tim Cook's reaction to this was printed in the Apple blog "9to5Mac", where he railed: "Any claim that we don't care is demonstrably false and insulting to us". Such accusations contradict Apple's core values: "This is not who we are."

The New York Times has reported on the victims of two explosions at Apple's suppliers, among other things. According to SDA, four workers were killed and 77 injured in the explosions last year. Metal dust was detonated during the polishing of aluminum tablet computer housings. Apple then emphasized that safety precautions had been improved following the explosions. Now Cook wants to ensure better working conditions and has published a list of its 156 suppliers for the first time. The company has also joined the Fair Labor Association (FLA), an organization that carries out independent inspections of factories. However, criticism of Apple is nothing new. In recent years, there has been repeated criticism of the working conditions at Apple suppliers. This was particularly the case after a series of suicides at the large Chinese contract manufacturer Foxconn, as the SDA writes.

What exactly did Tim Cook mean when he said "That's not who we are"? That the company does not turn a blind eye for the sake of profit like other large corporations? In any case, most of Apple's suppliers in China also supply other manufacturers such as Dell, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Lenovo, Motorola, Nokia, Sony, Toshiba and others.