If it is anything like the Cable TV Industry, Apple absolutely knows and is in on the game.
I've noticed a pattern where large companies use a -lot- of contractors, sometimes under many layers. When I worked in Telecom, we were usually the contractor for Comcast, but sometimes there was another contractor above us and we were the 'sub-contractor'.
But then, below us, were often 1 or 2 more layers of subcontractors.
1/3 of the time we had decent contractors and scope of work and everything worked out. The other 2/3 of the time, it would be one or more of the following:
- The contractor mis-bid the project in a way that would lead them to go bankrupt in a year or two
- The contractor did a cut-rate job to maximize their profits.
- The deadlines or work rate were unreasonable and led to mistakes.
But, the important thing about all of this, is that the number of layers involved in the transaction lets everyone point the finger at each other and never point out that maybe it's the system itself that is broken.
I've noticed a pattern where large companies use a -lot- of contractors, sometimes under many layers. When I worked in Telecom, we were usually the contractor for Comcast, but sometimes there was another contractor above us and we were the 'sub-contractor'.
But then, below us, were often 1 or 2 more layers of subcontractors.
1/3 of the time we had decent contractors and scope of work and everything worked out. The other 2/3 of the time, it would be one or more of the following:
But, the important thing about all of this, is that the number of layers involved in the transaction lets everyone point the finger at each other and never point out that maybe it's the system itself that is broken.