Harman-owned JBL speakers are facing scrutiny following reports of battery self-ignition. A finished batch of JBL speakers caught fire in a third-party factory warehouse in Guangdong in August 2025 while awaiting shipment. A separate incident occurred in October 2025 when batteries designated for JBL products self-ignited in a Guangxi warehouse. An anonymous letter obtained alleges that these incidents point to “systemic procurement violations” within Harman’s Shenzhen supply chain.
The whistleblower claims that complaints regarding battery leakage in earphone lines and self-ignition in speaker batteries on Harman’s Shenzhen production lines have been “non-stop” over the past two years, with feedback even received from Japanese consumers. Despite this, the involved battery suppliers have not been investigated or penalized. The sources allege that these suppliers continue to receive multi-million dollar annual orders from Harman Shenzhen at prices 20% to 30% above market rate. This stands in stark contrast to 2017, when Harman removed a well-known battery manufacturer from its approved supplier list following a similar investigation. Now, the same scenario is reportedly being handled internally without any “delisting” or investigation.
The letter further details multiple alleged patterns of misconduct by senior executives at Harman Shenzhen:
* A “shell company” with a registered capital of only RMB 100,000 allegedly secured multi-million dollar orders within months of its founding.
* Lower-tier suppliers were allegedly forced to purchase products from “connected parties,” bypassing corporate scrutiny to allow struggling small factories to take over business originally held by large, listed companies.
* Multiple suppliers with the lowest technical scores were allegedly pre-selected as exclusive vendors under the guise of major brands, despite protests from the engineering department.
* A procurement executive reportedly attempted to unilaterally raise an already-approved quote before an order was issued, only to be stopped by another department.
The whistleblower asserts that the top executive and multiple high-ranking procurement officials at Harman Shenzhen are implicated, allegedly making tens of millions of dollars in illegal profits annually. Despite repeated internal complaints, these individuals remain in their positions, with an alleged “patron in the headquarters” being an open secret, rendering internal reporting channels ineffective.
If these allegations are true, they indicate that senior Harman Shenzhen executives have jeopardized public safety for personal gain. Harman is urged to launch an immediate internal investigation to safeguard product quality and consumer safety.