Update: Apple has said that it has placed Foxconn's plant in Sriperumbudur probation after both companies found that some remote dormitories and dining rooms used for employees did not meet required standards. Apple did not specify what being on probation meant.
Apple assembler Foxconn, which is set to reopen its Sriperumbudur unit (near Chennai) on December 30, is growing bigger in India. It is said to have invested an additional $350 million in the unit to help build an exclusive production line for Apple iPhone 13. The production has already gotten into trial stage, while commercial production is likely to begin in February. Taiwanese media reports said the new investment is part of Foxconn's long-term development in India.
The Sriperumbudur plant of Foxconn already rolls out iPhone XR, iPhone 11, and iPhone 12 models. Foxconn also has an unit in nearby Andhra Pradesh.
Foxconn, the world’s largest contract electronics maker, is Apple’s most important iPhone assembler, and has plants in many parts of the world, aside from India. Apple accounts for about 40% of the Taiwanese company’s total sales.
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Foxconn to focus on Apple, its subsidiary on other companies
Meanwhile, Taiwanese media also reported that Foxconn has agreed to all demands made by the employees, who had been on a stir after a food poisoning incident at the workers' hostel led to the hospitalization of over 150. The subsequent protest threatened to turn violent before the police moved in to make some preventive arrests. But the plant was quickly shut for the crisis to blow over.
The company has promised "to improve the temporary employees’ working and living conditions by expanding their living areas, upgrading bathing facilities and providing drinking water, among other improvements."
Foxconn's new investment has come at a time when its subsidiary Bharat FIH is being spun off for being separately listed on the BSE and NSE. Bharat has announced its plans to raise over Rs 5,000 crore through an initial public offering (IPO).
Bharat FIH is the largest contract electronics maker in India. The company is the largest mobile phone manufacturing and assembly services provider to Xiaomi Technology. It produces a range of goods, such as cellphones, machinery, electric vehicles, TVs, handheld devices and Internet connectivity gadgets. The expansion into electric vehicles, televisions and hearables began from March 2021. For the record, Bharat FIH was subject to tax raids last week.
It is now seems that Foxconn wants to focus on Apple, leaving the other companies, including Xiaomi, to be handled by its subsidiary Bharat FIH.
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