Apple said its contractor, Taiwan high-tech firm Foxconn, has “saved lives” with a suicide prevention programme established after a number of workers killed themselves at plants in China.

In the 2011 Progress Report, Apple said it had sent a team of experts to Foxconn’s plant in Shenzhen, southern China, last year to investigate the suicides and evaluate the company’s response.

“The team commended Foxconn for taking quick action on several fronts simultaneously... the investigation found that Foxconn’s response had definitely saved lives,” said the report which was released this week.

Foxconn adopted a number of preventative measures, including hiring a large number of psychological counselors, establishing a 24-hour care centre, and attaching large nets to its factory buildings to prevent impulsive suicides, it said.

Foxconn is also implementing an employee assistance programme that focuses on maintaining employee mental health and expanding social support networks, according to the report.

“Apple will continue to work with Foxconn through the implementation of these programmes, and we plan to take key learnings from this engagement to other facilities in our supply base,” it said.

At least 13 employees at Foxconn, the world’s largest maker of computer components which produces goods for Apple, Sony and Nokia, died in apparent suicides last year, China’s official Global Times reported.