TAIPEI—Another employee of Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. died after falling from a building, Chinese state media reported, a day after the company's head defended its treatment of workers in his first public statements about a wave of suicides at the contract electronics manufacturer.
It wasn't immediately clear if the deceased employee, who died early Tuesday, was male or female, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported. A Shenzhen police official said police were unaware of the incident. Hon Hai officials didn't return calls for comment.
The worker is the ninth to have died this year after a fall at the Taiwanese company's large manufacturing complex in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen. Most have been ruled suicides, although the nature of several incidents, including the latest, hasn't yet been announced. Two more workers have injured themselves in suicide attempts.
The number of deaths isn't statistically exceptional, given the size of Hon Hai. The company, also known by its trade name Foxconn, employs approximately 800,000 workers in China and manufactures a range of gadgets including Apple Inc.'s iPad. But the fatalities have sparked discussion and some criticism in China's media about conditions for factory workers.
Hon Hai's founder responded to the scrutiny Monday. "I believe we are definitely not a sweatshop," said Hon Hai Chairman Terry Gou in brief remarks at an economic forum. "It is very difficult to manage a manufacturing team of more than 800,000 people," he added. "There are many things to do every day. But we are confident we will be able to stabilize the situation very soon."
On Friday, a 21-year-old worker from Hubei province fell from the top floor of a four-story factory building at Hon Hai's Shenzhen plant, according to Xinhua. His death came a week after two colleagues fell from buildings at the plant. One of the two cases, involving a 24-year-old woman, was ruled a suicide, while Hon Hai said local authorities haven't ruled whether the other death was a suicide.
Xinhua also reported Friday that police officials in the northern province of Hebei had confirmed that two employees at Hon Hai's Langfang factory there, which employs 30,000 workers, had been found dead at the plant early this year. One death was a suicide, the other was attributed to sudden cardiac arrest, Xinhua reported.
Hon Hai hasn't responded to requests for comment on the Hebei cases.
The world's largest contract electronics manufacturer by revenue, Hon Hai has launched a series of antisuicide measures, including setting up a suicide hot line, bringing in academic experts and counselors to talk with employees and establishing a "Foxconn Employee Care Center." Hon Hai is also inviting a group of Buddhist monks to pray for the factory.
Mr. Guo said that the company is "doing a lot" more to help its employees. He didn't elaborate.
