What you need to know
- Apple is going to start making the iPhone 13 in India next month.
- A Foxconn factory has got the nod to restart production and to make the device for both the domestic market and export.
- Production at the factory had previously been suspended because of protests over food poisoning.
A Foxconn factory in India where production was suspended because of protests about food poisoning is to resume production next month, making the iPhone 13 for the local market and for exports.
Business Standard reports:
Seven months after it was launched in India, Apple is expected to start manufacturing the iPhone 13 at the Foxconn plant in Sriperumbudur near Chennai from April, according to sources. The phones will be for both the domestic and export market.
As the report notes, the factory had not been operating, following protests in December by women workers about food poisoning at the plant. Next month, Apple's best iPhone, the iPhone 13, will start to roll off its production lines, and the devices will be sold locally in India and exported to other markets.
Apple has onshored more manufacturing in India to avoid heavy import tariffs, saving more than 20% on the price of its products as a result. However, factories have endured a troubled start to life. A Wistron iPhone plant in Bengaluru was the scene of a huge riot in December 2020, as workers smashed glass, overturned cars, and started fires to protest unpaid wages and lowered salaries. Insight after the fact indicates that an extensive hiring spree may have overwhelmed the plant's human resources department, causing the backlog in pay.
At the weekend it emerged that Apple may also be in talks with producers in Pakistan about manufacturing in the country.
