Electronics manufacturer Foxconn admits that it blackmailed interns into working overtime on its assembly lines in order to fulfil orders related to the PlayStation 4.

Foxconn told Quartz that an internal investigation has determined more than 1000 engineering interns from China’s Xi’an Institute of Technology were forced to work night shifts and overtime on the company’s assembly line – a violation of the company’s policies.

According to Chinese site Tencent Games (as translated by Games in Asia), the students were told that if they didn’t participate in the internship program, they wouldn’t receive six course credits, effectively making it impossible for them to graduate.

However, once they arrived at Foxconn, the interns found themselves assigned to jobs that had no relation to their fields of study, but instead involved packing PlayStation 4 consoles.

Foxconn said the overtime violations had been corrected.

“Immediate actions have been taken to bring that campus into full compliance with our code and policies,” the company said in a statement.

These actions would include “reinforcing the policies of no overtime and no night shifts for student interns, even though such work is voluntary, and reminding all interns of their rights to terminate their participation in the program at any time.”

Foxconn founder Terry Gou acknowledged last weekend that it was becoming hard to find enough workers to fill his factories.

“The young generation don’t want to work in factories, they want to work in services or the internet or another more easy and relaxed job,” Gou told the Financial Times.

“Many workers are moving to the services sector and, in the manufacturing sector, total demand [for workers] is now more than supply.”

In a statement to MCV, Sony said Foxconn was fully compliant with its own code of conduct.

“The Sony Group established the ‘Sony Supplier Code of Conduct’ in June 2005 with the expectation of every supplier agreeing and adhering to the policies of the Sony Group in complying with all applicable laws, work ethics, labour conditions, and respect for human rights, environmental conservation and health and safety,” it said.

“We understand Foxconn fully comprehend and comply with this ‘Sony Supplier Code of Conduct’.”

It should be pointed out that Foxconn also manufactures parts for Microsoft, Nintendo, and Apple.