(CFP)

Terry Gou, Chairman of Foxconn Technology Group, apologized and pledged better welfare for workers on May 26 after a string of employee suicides.

At least 12 employees in Foxconn's Shenzhen plant in south China's Guangdong Province attempted to kill themselves as of May 26 this year. Ten died and two were severely injured. The suicides have triggered widespread criticism of Foxconn's allegedly inhumane management style.

Gou promised the company would do everything possible to prevent more deaths. "I cannot guarantee that similar deaths will not happen again, but we are doing our utmost to look after and care more for our staff," he said when meeting the media in Shenzhen.

Gou, 59, is ranked as the richest person in Taiwan in the Forbes magazine list of the world's billionaires, with a fortune of $5.5 billion.

Foxconn is part of Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., which was founded by Gou in 1974. It is now the world's largest contract manufacturer of electronics and computer components, occupying the 109th spot among the Fortune Top 500 companies in 2009. The company employs more than 800,000 mainland workers.