Steve Jobs’ Legacy Honored On Apple Site With Obituary, Photo

October 6th, 2011

The Huffington Post

By: Dean Praetorius

In the wake of the death of visionary Apple co-founder Steven P. Jobs the company has posted a tribute to him directly on its site.

As news broke of his death, Apple.com’s homepage was changed to feature a black-and-white photo of Steve Jobs and a link to a short obituary posted by the company.

“Apple has lost a visionary and creative genius, and the world has lost an amazing human being,” Apple wrote. “Those of us who have been fortunate enough to know and work with Steve have lost a dear friend and an inspiring mentor. Steve leaves behind a company that only he could have built, and his spirit will forever be the foundation of Apple.”

As you can see in the screenshots below, Apple is also encouraging people to pay their respects and share their condolences by emailing rememberingsteve@apple.com.

The 56-year-old received a liver transplant in 2009, and had been battling cancer since 2004 according to the Associated Press. Six weeks ago he resigned as CEO, leaving then COO Tim Cook to run the company.

Jobs’ family has also released a statement, which you can read here along with other updates.

Apple’s board issued the following statement about Jobs’ death:

We are deeply saddened to announce that Steve Jobs passed away today.

Steve’s brilliance, passion and energy were the source of countless innovations that enrich and improve all of our lives. The world is immeasurably better because of Steve.

His greatest love was for his wife, Laurene, and his family. Our hearts go out to them and to all who were touched by his extraordinary gifts.

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Apple and Child Labor

March 1, 2010

Bloomberg.com

By Connie Guglielmo

Apple Inc. said three of its suppliers hired 11 underage workers to help build the iPhone, iPod and Macintosh computer last year, a violation it uncovered as part of its onsite audit of 102 factories.

“Apple discovered three facilities that had previously hired 15-year-old workers in countries where the minimum age for employment is 16,” the company said in a 24-page report on “Supplier Responsibility” posted on its Web site. The workers were “no longer in active employment at the time of our audit.”

Apple didn’t name its suppliers and manufacturers. The company visited sites in China, Taiwan, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, the Czech Republic, Philippines and the U.S. Apple also found three cases where suppliers “falsified records” to conceal underage hiring, more than 60 facilities where employees were overworked, 24 partners that paid less than the minimum wage and 57 who didn’t offer all required benefits.

“Apple’s Code sets a maximum of 60 work hours per week and requires at least one day of rest per seven days of work,” the company said. Apple also said it asked suppliers to end a practice “where wage deductions were used for disciplinary purposes.”

The company said it stopped doing business with at least one unnamed supplier after finding repeated violations and “inadequate actions” to address the problems.

Recruitment Fees

Apple’s review also found that at eight facilities, including suppliers in Taiwan, foreign workers paid excessive recruitment fees to hiring agencies to get jobs. The company said employees were reimbursed $2.2 million in fee overcharges over the past two years and that Apple has set a standard limiting such fees to the “equivalent of one month’s net wages.”

Apple “also created extensive training programs to educate workers about their right to a safe and respectful work environment,” Steve Dowling, a spokesman for Cupertino, California-based Apple, said today.

As part of that training, more than 128,000 workers received information outlining their rights and more than 5,000 supervisors and managers received training on their responsibilities to employees, Apple said in its report.

The company also established courses for workers to expand computer and technical skills and set standards for dormitories, medical treatment and pregnancy non-discrimination.

Apple rose $2.62 to $204.62 yesterday in Nasdaq Stock Market trading. The shares more than doubled last year.

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