Chinese firm bans staff from buying iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus

Can owning an iPhone 7 or iPhone 7 Plus cost you your job? Sounds ridiculous right! Well, it is not for company in Nanyang City, Henan province, in China, who has asked its entire staff from buying the iPhone 7 and the iPhone 7 Plus. And, anyone who is found to have purchased the Apple products, will be sacked.

The memo, signed off by the firm’s administrative department, reads: “The American iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus have been launched and official prices are between 5,388 to 6,388 yuan [£624 to £740]. As the internal storage capacity increases, the price of the mobile phone also rises accordingly.

“According to our managing director’s orders, all our employees are strictly forbidden to purchase and to use iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus. Anyone found disobeying this order must immediately resign from the company.

“Beloved colleagues, if our finances are healthy and our economic conditions allow it, please let us take better care of our parents’ health, be more concerned about our children’s upbringing, be more aware of how precious life is, more involved in our country’s welfare. Only if we do this, can we ensure long-term prosperity and happiness? Do not waste your effort on those luxuries that will only squeeze our hard earned money dry.

“Today, 18 September, is a day that all Chinese people will never forget. Never forget our national humiliation, make sure to remember your history. Boycotting foreign products needs to start with you.

“We cannot go to the battlefield to protect our country, but we will work hard in our own capacity and in our designated positions. In our daily lives, we must boycott products from Japan and the US. Use your actions to support our own goods, as only if you have a nation, can you have a home.

“Please take special notice of this memo and be sure to abide by it.”

After the notice was posted on Chinese social media, it raised wide debate online getting mixed reaction on the news. While some people have commended the company for its tough stand on foreign products and its patriotic views, others point out that the action was invalid since it violated China’s labour law.

The purpose of the notice was to encourage the employees to pay more attention to their family instead of material goods, explained an office clerk with surname Liu.

However, he said that the company itself was further discussing the notice.

“For those who had already bought an iPhone 7, I think the company won’t fire them,” Liu added.