Rich Fiscus
19 Dec 2011 5:39
An explosion Saturdy at a Shanghai factory preparing to begin supplying components for Apple left 61 injured, 23 of whom had to be hospitalized.
The factory, which had not yet begun operating, is believed to be slated to produce back panels for the iPad 2. This has raised speculation of shortages of the world's most popular tablet in the first quarter of next year.
According to Reuters, Apple is investigating the incident.
In recent years Apple has gotten a lot of bad publicity over stories of poor working conditions in the factories of their suppliers. In reality these issues aren't unique to their suppliers, but Apple's high profile and profit margins have made them an easy target for critics.
In 2010 Foxconn, who assembles components from around the world into iPhones, was in the news frequently because of a series of suicides.
A new Foxconn plant in Brazil has reportedly already begun producing the iPhone 4 at a rate of 1600 units a day and may be adding iPhone 4S production by the end of the year.