Tata Group seems to be all set to complete the takeover of Wistron’s iPhone plant in Bengaluru by the end of this month.
Tata Group Taking Over Wistron’s iPhone Plant
This move holds significance as it would be giving India its first homegrown production line for Apple products.
Considering this change, the Indian conglomerate has already started organizational changes at the plant, according to the sources close to this takeover.
Further adding that around 2,000 factory personnel could be asked to go as part of this takeover process.
Besides this, the Bengaluru iPhone plant may see an attrition of 400 mid-level executives.
In the meantime, about 4- 5 senior level executives have already been let go or are in the process of exiting.
How Does This Help?
Coming to Wistron’s Indian plant, it had nearly eight production lines, which are currently manufacturing iPhone 12 and iPhone 14.
Some speculations suggest that Tata will start manufacturing iPhone 15 after this takeover.
Interestingly, Wistron’s Bengaluru plant was the Taiwanese electronics company’s only product line for Apple products in India.
This takeover of Wistron will help the company in completely divesting from the iPhone business in India which is estimated to be worth $600 million.
To the unawares, this 2.2 million square foot factory is located just on the outskirts of Bengaluru.
Why Would This Happen?
These changes are coming in fruition when Apple is eyeing India’s manufacturing prowess with interest, especially as they wish to shift production from China.
It appears that due to geopolitical troubles between the US and China, the Cupertino, California-based company announced its plans to shift 25 percent of global production to India.
As of now, there are three Taiwanese firms including Wistron, Pegatron and Foxconn that assemble Apple products in India.
Earlier, Wistron announced its plans to leave India’s iPhone business as early as 2020.
On the other hand, Foxconn and Pegatron have increased their production lines in India recently.
In order to increase its business, Tata has taken other steps with Apple, such as increasing hiring at its plant in Hosur, Tamil Nadu, where iPhone components are manufactured.
Tata Group seems to be eyeing manufacturing for Apple to be a golden opportunity, especially as the Indian government is courting Apple extensively to shift its production to India.
Tata will potentially acquire Pegatron’s manufacturing units for iPhone once the Wistron takeover is complete, as per the Industry insiders speculations.
