Building the European centre in Czechia: Foxconn's local integration in regional and global labour markets
Abstract
Foxconn decided to expand its production in Europe at the end of 1990s, which coincided with the launch of the Social Democratic government's push to attract more FDI to Czechia.2 Pardubice, a town of 100,000 inhabitants 100 km east of Prague, became its preferred destination due to its geographical proximity to Western markets, good infrastructure, relatively low wages and skilled workforce. At first an assembly plant, it has evolved into a European centre of Foxconn operations and has also undergone industrial upgrading.
Among other things, this was related to the opening of a new factory in Kutná Hora in the vicinity of Pardubice. Drawing on previous research on Foxconn in Czechia (Andrijasevic and Sacchetto 2014; Andrijasevic and Sacchetto 2015; Sýkora et al. 2015), articles from (especially) the Czech media and interviews carried out with Foxconn employees and trade unions, this chapter analyses Foxconn's expansion strategy, the development of a fragmented multinational workforce, working conditions and employment relations, including the role of trade unions.