Report Highlights ‘Sweatshop’ Like Conditions in Apple Approved Mac Repair Facility

BY Mahit Huilgol

Published 27 Jul 2021

2020 MacBook Air iFixit Teardown Battery

A part of Apple’s repair work is done in house, while the rest is usually outsourced to third-party providers. CSAT solution is one such third party provider based out of Houston, Texas. A new report by Business Insider highlights the inhumane condition inside the Houston facility and calls it a “sweatshop.” Investigations revealed a 13-hour workday, hostile working conditions and air conditioning that seldom works.

Insider has spoken to several employees who have worked at the facility in Houston. The facility is tasked with repairing Macs. The workers are expected to repair devices unreasonably fast. One of the workers compared CSAT solution to a sweatshop wherein technicians are treated like “slaves.”

As five current and five former workers told Insider, employees fix gadgets for up to 13 hours a day. The air-conditioning at the building in Northwest Houston where technicians repair Apple computers is seldom fully functioning, the workers said, so CSAT Solutions tells employees to bring personal fans. Cellphones and idle chitchat are banned, the workers said. Workers also said there aren’t enough bathrooms, and one current repair technician said they smell “disgusting.”

As per the report, technicians are asked to complete the repair in under one hour, which they say is “impossible to sustain.” Apple is reportedly outsourcing more work to CSAT solutions and is exploring partnerships for devices other than Mac. Currently, the facility is assigned with battery replacement and “reviwing dead unit.” Apple maintains that its suppliers and partners maintain the “highest standards in the industry” and inspect the facility regularly.

Those interviewed agree that Apple staff visited audit the facilities. However, the employees were instructed to do things differently during the inspection. This way, CSAT would evade detection and avoid any actions. A quick look at CSAT’s online review confirms the conditions mentioned in the report.

[via Business Insider]