iPhone Maker Foxconn Set to Quadruple India Plant Workforce

A poster with a Foxconn logo is seen at a conference in Taipei. File photo: Reuters.

Taiwan’s Foxconn plans to quadruple the workforce its iPhone factory in India over the next two years, government officials said.

The key Apple supplier plans to boost the workforce at its plant in southern India to 70,000 by adding 53,000 more workers over the next two years, said the sources, who declined to be named as the discussions are private.

Foxconn has grabbed headlines in recent weeks, with tight virus restrictions at its Zhengzhou plant, the world’s largest iPhone factory, disturbing production and fuelling concerns over the impact of China’s virus policy on global supply chains.

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 central to Apple’s efforts to shift production away from China.

Reuters Graphics

Indian Expansion

A person in Taiwan with knowledge of the matter said Foxconn was expanding its operations in India to increase its capacity for basic iPhone models and to meet Indian demand.

Foxconn has shared its plans with Tamil Nadu officials about accelerating its hiring efforts at the Indian plant due to disruptions in China, said the first government source.

Foxconn, formally called Hon Hai Precision Industry Co Ltd, opened the India plant in 2019 and has been ramping up production. It began producing iPhone 14 this year.

JP Morgan analysts estimated in September that Apple may make one out of four iPhones in India by 2025, and 25% of all Apple products, including Mac, iPad, Apple Watch and AirPods, will be manufactured outside China by 2025 from 5% currently.

Both Foxconn and Apple declined to comment.

Reuters, with additional editing from Alfie Habershon

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Alfie Habershon

Alfie is a Reporter at Asia Financial. He previously lived in Mumbai reporting on India's economy and healthcare for data journalism initiative IndiaSpend, as well as having worked for London based Tortoise Media.