Made In India iPhones: Apple Supplier Foxconn Will Hire 6000 Staff, Invest Rs 7500 Crore

Apple seems to be having some ambitious plans lined up for India!

After its announcement of opening an Apple store in the country by 2021, now Foxconn, the Taiwanese electronic manufacturer who assembles iPhone models in India is allegedly investing Rs 7500 Crore ($1 billion) in Apple’s India facility.

Read on to find out more…

Apple’s Plans For India!

Foxconn also makes phones for Xiaomi. Earlier the company had revealed its plans to make more investments in India in order to boost its manufacturing capabilities here but the share of the same wasn’t revealed.

Foxconn has two plants in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh where it assembles Apple and Xiaomi smartphones while employing thousands of workers. 

According to a Reuters report, Apple is silently and gradually moving its production line from China to other countries. It is also ramping up the manufacturing process in India as a part of this shifting plan. 

Apple would have requested the Taiwanese factory to expand its facilities located in Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu over a period of 3 years where the two companies are already assembling the iPhone XR.

Foxconn Chairman Liu Young-way told the company’s annual general meeting last month that looking ahead, ‘India was a bright spot’ for development even though there was a ‘certain impact’ at present due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Liu said, without detailing plans or reasons for the firm’s view on the business outlook in India, “We are fully pushing ahead with the next steps there, and maybe in a few months’ time, we can reveal on our website the next steps and report back to everyone. We’ll have a further investment there.” 

Apple assembles a few models through Taiwan’s Wistron Corp in Bengaluru. Reuters had previously reported, Wistron is also set to open a new plant, where it plans to make more Apple devices.

More About the Expansion Plans!

The expansion plan will  allow other iPhone models to be made in India. Sources told Reuters that these investments will create 6,000 job opportunities in the Sriperumbudur facility.

India being the second-largest smartphone market in the world, Apple only accounts for 1% of sales there. The country has high import taxes, which makes Apple’s products expensive when compared with its peers.

Manufacturing smartphones and related products locally can help Apple reduce some costs, which may result in more affordable prices for the Indian consumers.

If this plan gains success, Apple might use Foxconn facilities in India to export iPhone models to other countries.

Neil Shah of Hong Kong-based tech researcher Counterpoint said, “With India’s labor cheaper compared with China, and the gradual expansion of its supplier base here, Apple will be able to use the country as an export hub,.”

India to Become the Next Electronic Hub?

In June, India launched a Rs 50,000 crore ‘Electronics Manufacturing Schemes‘ plan to boost electronics manufacturing in the country. It said that it would start by offering SOPs to global smartphone makers to establish domestic production lines.

Shortly after the announcement, Union Electronics & Information Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad spoke to ET Now that the motive behind launching the scheme is to make India a manufacturing hub. Speaking about PM Narendra Modi’s ‘Atma Nirbhar Bharat’ drive, Prasad said it does not mean an isolated or inward-looking India but pertains to a nation which is strong and self-sufficient in resources.

He said, “We launched this programme to show our intent that India is ready for business.”

Apple’s plans will likely boost Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s initiatives like ‘Make In India’ and ‘Atma Nirbhar Bharat’, aimed at creating new jobs.

Earlier, Samsung had also said it will make smartphones for export from its Noida plant in North India.