Taiwan-based Foxconn now plans to increase the workforce at its plant in Tamil Nadu to 70,000, adding 53,000 more workers over the next two years.
Taiwan-based Foxconn is now planning to increase the workforce at its plant in Tamil Nadu to 70,000 by adding 53,000 more workers over the next two years.
Apple supplier Foxconn plans to quadruple the workforce at its iPhone factory in India in two years, two government officials with knowledge of the matter said, pointing to production adjustments as it faces disruption in China. .
Foxconn has made headlines in recent weeks, with tighter virus restrictions at its Zhengzhou plant, the world’s biggest iPhone factory, ramping up production and concerns over the impact of China’s virus policy on global supply chains.
Disruptions prompt Apple to lower its forecast for shipments of premium iphone 14 model This week, Busy lowered its sales outlook for the end of the year holiday season.
Taiwan-based Foxconn now plans to increase the workforce at its plant in south India to 70,000 by adding 53,000 more workers over the next two years, sources said, adding that discussions are private.
While the size of the plant in India’s southern state of Tamil Nadu is dwarfed by Foxconn’s Zhengzhou plant, which employs 200,000 workers, it is the center of Apple’s efforts to move production out of China.
Foxconn, formally known as Hon Hai Precision Industry Company Limited, opened its India plant in 2019 and is ramping up production. It started production of the iPhone 14 this year.
Foxconn’s interest in expanding the facility is known, but the scale of the planned expansion and timeline have not been previously reported.
Foxconn and Apple both declined to comment.
Foxconn President Liu Young-wei said on Thursday’s earnings call that the company will adjust its production capacity and production so that it is not impacted by potential disruptions to supply for the Christmas and Lunar New Year holidays.
Foxconn has shared its plans with Tamil Nadu authorities about ramping up hiring efforts at the Indian plant due to disruptions in China, the first government source said.
In addition to iPhones, the plant also manufactures products for other global tech firms, but the new hiring push is primarily driven by the need to meet growing demand for iPhones, the person said.
A Taiwanese person with knowledge of the matter said Foxconn is expanding its operations in India to increase capacity of basic models and meet Indian demand.
The person said, ‘We are gradually increasing our production there.
The second government source in India, a senior Tamil Nadu administration official, said the state government is working with Foxconn to “finalize” the expansion.
On 27 October, the state’s investment promotion branch tweeted that top government officials traveled to Taiwan and met with Liu. He “had detailed discussions on Foxconn’s new ventures and investments” and offered the government’s support.
The first government official said the state was in discussion with suppliers to resolve issues such as housing facilities for workers.
Last year, Foxconn’s Tamil Nadu plant was at the center of a massive food-poisoning incident that sparked employee protests and highlighted the living conditions of workers in dormitories near the factory.
Two government sources said officials in Tamil Nadu, a hub of electronic and automotive manufacturing, were pushing Apple suppliers to branch out into manufacturing components for the iPhone.
Currently, iPhones are assembled in India by at least three of Apple’s global suppliers: Foxconn and Pegatron in Tamil Nadu; and Wistron in the adjacent state of Karnataka.
Analysts at JPMorgan projected in September that Apple could make one in four iPhones in India by 2025, and 25% of all Apple products, including Macs, iPads, Apple Watches and AirPods, are currently outside China, up from 5% by 2025. to be manufactured.