Made In India iPhone: Foxconn Factory In Chennai Starts Operation From This Date; Workers Still Skeptical

The economy of every region, state, nation, and world is connected to each other. When a manufacturing facility starts its operation in a region it does not only support those it directly employees. It starts a virtuous cycle of money which can elevate the whole region out of poverty. Higher wages increase consumption, which leads to higher prices and a fattening up of the corporate bottom line.

But one unfortunate incident can bring all this to a standstill. This is what exactly had happened in the case of Apple’s manufacturing facility in Tamilnadu, India. But it looks like the wheels of the economy might just have started spinning once again.

Foxconn to restart operation on upcoming Wednesday

According to recent developments, Apple Inc supplier Foxconn will reopen an iPhone manufacturing facility in India on Wednesday with 500 workers. It should be noted that the Foxconn plant is located in the town of Sriperumbudur near the Tamil Nadu state capital of Chennai. It had employed about 17,000 people but was closed on Dec. 18 after protests over 250 of its workers fell sick because of food poisoning.

Since then Apple has placed the factory on probation after discovering that some dormitories and dining rooms did not meet required standards.

According to Government officials, Foxconn intended to resume production gradually but is not sure about the exact timeline for reopening with the full workforce.

Foxconn has been making the iPhone 12 and testing production of the iPhone 13 at the Sriperumbudur facility. Apple has eight other suppliers in India.

The incident of food poisoning has propelled the government to take steps

Mr. Selvaperunthagai, a member of the state assembly for the area, told that the state government would build a hostel facility with a capacity to house tens of thousands of workers from various industries to address the concerns about standards of dormitories and dining facilities.

“The government is clear that they don’t want such incidents to happen again,” he added further.

It should be noted that Tamil Nadu, a state of more than 70 million people and one of the country’s most industrialized, is sometimes called the “Detroit of Asia”. It is houses factories of companies including BMW, Daimler, Hyundai, Nissan, and Renault.