North China Foxconn Worker Jumps to Her Death

A female employee at Foxconn’s Taiyuan plant jumped to her death from a company building, reported Xinhua Thursday. Unlike numerous prior suicides by Foxconn workers, this appears to have been precipitated by a failed romance rather than despair over working conditions.

Li Rongying, 20, jumped from the fourth floor of a workshop in a plant in the northern Chinese province of Shanxi on Wednesday morning. A suicide note said she had despaired over a relationship. Relatives are seeking an autopsy.

In September a young female intern fell to her death from a dormitory at Foxconn’s Zhenghzhou plant. In July a 21-year-old worker jumped to his death in its biggest plant located in Shenzhen. In 2010 at least 13 Foxconn workers committed suicide.

Foxconn is the world’s largest electronics assembler and is a leading supplier for Apple, Sony and Nokia. The Taiwan-based OEM employees about 1.2 million workers in China. The firm had recently given a 25% raise to its workers in China following the suicides and numerous protest rallies over working conditions and pay.