[ssalazar]

> But when it comes to things that actually harm profits and challenge shareholder responsibilities, they stay mum.

Cynical but this is why- it would cost them a lot, at least today. The Chinese government has zero reservations about sandbagging US corporations that publicly critique it or otherwise don't fall in line - just ask Google, Facebook, or the Houston Rockets. You wont hear a peep out of Apple until they're 100% sure they can break ties and afford any assets seized, have no personnel abroad, etc.

[jcytong]

Apple last quarter generated 16% of their revenue in China. They've also cooperated with the HK/Chinese governments to pull police tracking apps[1] and VPN apps[2] from the App Store.

I'd say even if they relocate 100% of their manufacturing from China, they'd still stay silent because 10B of revenue per quarter is very significant to their top line.

[1]https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/apple-pulls-police-tracki... [2]https://www.zdnet.com/article/apple-pulls-vpns-from-china-ap...

[jessaustin]

If any firm in history has ever been rich enough to weather a bit of a business setback, surely Apple would be?

[DaiPlusPlus]

Consider that Apple's supply chain is centered around the PRC - if Apple PR ever says the /wrong/ then then Foxconn would immediately find their factories closed and Apple wouldn't have their latest iPhone available come October - and Christmas.

I'm surprised it took until very recently for Apple to start spinning-up alternative supply arrangements and manufacturing in other countries - I guess they expected that the PRC would improve their human-rights situation by now.

[JimDabell]

> if Apple PR ever says the /wrong/ then then Foxconn would immediately find their factories closed and Apple wouldn't have their latest iPhone available come October - and Christmas.

Is that something China could realistically do without irreparably harming themselves in the process though? It’s not just Apple’s supply chain that goes through China, it’s everybody’s. And once China demonstrates they are willing to do that, everybody is going to see a China-based supply chain as a gigantic business risk and look elsewhere. Apple can weather that kind of setback, but it would be an existential threat for most businesses and they would need to be proactive. Apple would go elsewhere and lay down the infrastructure, then everybody else would follow in their footsteps.

As far as I can see, China can throw their weight around to a certain extent but their hands are tied when it comes to stronger action because "Apple’s PR saying the wrong thing" is nowhere near as harmful to them as companies diversifying their supply chains en masse.

[kenneth]

One small possibility for hope: Foxconn is a Taiwanese company with factories around China but that has also no expanded to other countries. Apple can (and is slowly) work with Foxconn to progressively move bits of its supply chain out of the PRC. It's already producing some iPhone in India and some other devices in the USA. Given the current political climate, they really ought to diversify out of China as a sound business decision, even if they have no plans to take a stance.

[tanilama]

And what does Apple get in return? Some lip service praise from media? Would US government compensate Apple with tax break? What about the jobs that might be lost?

Think of Google then. Google's exit from China achieves one thing, that is becoming irrelevant to the Chinese people, while giving its competitor a free run of the world biggest internet market.

Control through market is a trick that US has been playing since WWII. It is proven to be effective.

[Grue3]

>And what does Apple get in return?

Not being complicit in genocide isn't enough reward by itself?

[ssalazar]

Certainly, but considering how much of their business is hardware manufactured in China, it would destroy basically every corporate performance metric their executive team has for some time and this is ultimately how their bread is buttered. Hardware manufacturing at that scale and sophistication is an intricate dance of suppliers, technology integration, and management, one that Apple has mastered- losing this and having to replace it overnight would be a huge setback, with basically no iPhones or Macs available for months or longer, closing of Apple Stores, and suspension of new technology development.

[jeswin]

> it would destroy basically every corporate performance metric their executive team has for some time and this is ultimately how their bread is buttered.

Interesting how Microsoft's President called for a Hippocratic oath for engineers, while dodging the real problem - decisions which have real impact are made by executives keen on maximizing bonuses.