Chinese company Foxconn Technology Group recently admitted to employing underage "interns" in their Yantai facility, a claim that was originally leveled labor rights advocates, according to IGN.
Foxconn is not a household name, but the products that it manufactures, namely the iPhone and the upcoming Wii U are on the minds of technologically minded consumers worldwide.
Reuters reports that the Chinese publication Xinhua discovered that 56 children were employed by Foxcomm.
In a statement the company admits, "Our investigation has shown that the interns in question, who ranged in age from 14 to 16, had worked in that campus for approximately three weeks."
They add, "This is not only a violation of China's labor law, it is also a violation of Foxconn policy and immediate steps have been taken to return the interns in question to their educational institutions."
The Technology Group's official site touts its support of education, stating " Foxconn's commitment to continual education, investing in its people long term and localization globally not only leads to the deep collaborating relationships with leading institutions of higher learning, but also helps to make this Fortune Global 500 group's global operations including the largest exporter in Greater China and the second largest exporter in Czech Republic. "
Foxconn also has a business history with Sony, Hewlett-Packard, and Dell.
"We recognize that full responsibility for these violations rests with our company and we have apologized to each of the students for our role in this action," says the Chinese company.
Foxconn has been in the public eye due to excessive overtime and "well-publicized suicides in 2010", says Reuters. Currently, the company allows for 20 hours of overtime, but has been pushed to reduce it to 9 hours.