Apple Supplier Wistron Hiring Up to 10,000 Extra Staff to Build iPhones in India

[MacRumors]

Apple partner Wistron is reportedly hiring up to 10,000 extra staff to man its iPhone plant in Narasapura, India, claims a new report today.

According to The New Indian Express, the Taiwanese contract manufacturer is expected to start the commercial production of iPhones at its plant in the Kolar district in the next few days.

The manufacturing facility in Kolar is expected to generate around 10,000 jobs. As per the Karnataka Industrial Policy, 70 per cent of jobs should be given to locals. Accordingly, at least 7,000 people from Karnataka are expected to get jobs here. The company is believed to have already recruited about 2,000 people so far.

"We are happy to note that recruitment process has begun," said Gaurav Gupta, Principal Secretary to India’s Industries and Commerce Department. He added that they are “going to start production soon." Wistron has not yet confirmed the news.

The new plant, which came online in April, is about 40 miles outside of Bengaluru, and is believed to specialize in PCB assembly.

A PCB serves as a bed for key ‌iPhone‌ components like processors, storage, and memory, and usually accounts for about half the cost of a smartphone. That makes PCB assembly in the country a major boon for Apple, as it avoids taxes levied by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government to boost local manufacturing and create new jobs.

Apple has been setting up ‌‌iPhone‌‌ manufacturing hubs in India ever since Prime Minister Narendra Modi began promoting his "Made in India" initiative, which requires that 30 percent of products sold by foreign companies be manufactured or produced within the country.

India is also the world's second largest smartphone market, but just one in four Indians are said to own a smartphone, providing Apple with an opportunity to sell iPhones to millions of new customers, while also diversifying its supply chains and moving away from its heavy reliance on China as an operations base.

A report from The Times of India earlier this month claimed an unnamed Apple supplier is planning to move a significant amount of production operations to India, with the aim of accommodating the export of $5 billion worth of devices from India.

Apple suppliers Wistron, Pegatron, Foxconn, and Samsung, are all expected to set up production facilities in India, and Foxconn has already announced that it plans to invest as much as $1 billion in India, and has already established its first manufacturing plant in the country.

Article Link: Apple Supplier Wistron Hiring Up to 10,000 Extra Staff to Build iPhones in India

 

[tridley68]

Good news hopefully this speeds up the process for the Pro models

 

[DeepIn2U]

BIG job numbers. I hope these are not seasonal.

 

[Dwalls90]

Good news hopefully this speeds up the process for the Pro models

I think this is more to diversify the supply chain. The potential Pro model delay relates to specific components, not labor shortages.
[automerge]1597666332[/automerge]

BIG job numbers. I hope these are not seasonal.

Most iPhone production labor jobs are seasonal.

 

[chineseguy38]

They should move everything out of China.

 

[bobob]

Apple partner Wistron is reportedly hiring up to 10,000 extra staff to man its iPhone plant in Narasapura, India, claims a new report today.

That's an old fashioned way of putting it!

 

[Ramchi]

Some great news on Apple after recent spurt of news on App Store litigation. This is win-win for both sides. All the very best..,

 

[d5aqoëp]

We will see other brands too move out of China very soon. World does not need China and their manufacturing anymore. Covid-19 pandemic has just accelerated the moving out process. We still have China apologetic people here on MacRumors. No apologies in the universe are enough.

 

[norbinhouston]

They didn't do this go get out of China, they did this because India has some of the strongest protectionist policies in the world. The US should impose the same on India.

 

[TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️]

So the new iPhone is gonna come from India?

 

[Macaholic868]

We need to do something similar to India. As covid-19 has shown our lack of manufacturing facilities is a national security issue.

 

[mtneer]

So, if 7000 jobs are being provided to locals, are the remaining 3000 employees being brought in from China?

 

[tavsingh]

Apple has been setting up ‌‌iPhone‌‌ manufacturing hubs in India ever since Prime Minister Narendra Modi began promoting his "Made in India" initiative

It's "Make in India" not "Made in India"

 

[tavsingh]

So, if 7000 jobs are being provided to locals, are the remaining 3000 employees being brought in from China?

From other states of India.

 

[ColdShadow]

Vietnam would have been a much better option.(Samsung been manufacturing their devices there for ages with very good track record)
I don't want any Apple device that was made in India.don't trust their standards at all.haven't seen anything good being made in India.

 

[falainber]

Good news hopefully this speeds up the process for the Pro models

Is it really good? I have not seen anything manufactured in India in my life (except for clothing). Could there be some quality issues?

 

[TrevorR90]

Vietnam would have been a much better option.(Samsung been manufacturing their devices there for ages with very good track record)
I don't want any Apple device that was made in India.don't trust their standards at all.haven't seen anything good being made in India.

I'm sure Apple's standards in their production plants will override any standards in India.

 

[Wise Desi]

They didn't do this go get out of China, they did this because India has some of the strongest protectionist policies in the world. The US should impose the same on India.

Nop people are now hating china and it’s bullying nature. China forces all companies to reveal their IP, atleast India is not doing that. Also putting all eggs in chinese basket was wrong move by Apple. Also India is USA ally and big buyer of USA defense equipment which creats job in USA.

 

[Wise Desi]

Is it really good? I have not seen anything manufactured in India in my life (except for clothing). Could there be some quality issues?

No, it has to pass Apple standards before comes to your hand. Also Apple is already exporting older version out of India. So relax and be happy.

 

[Ramchi]

Is it really good? I have not seen anything manufactured in India in my life (except for clothing). Could there be some quality issues?

It is due to Quantity issues to supply products for the globe. India didn’t have that kind of scale of operation to fulfill anything beyond India. Samsung, LG, Hyundai, Daimler, Suzuki, Honda, Toyota etc having plants mostly trying to satisfy domestic demands. Previously infrastructure was also an issue where transportation was a bottleneck. India is a signatory if IP and honours patents hence they don’t hijack IPs and start putting their brands and compete with your customers later. This is one of the reasons India seems to be behind but in reality they don’t want to do International business by breaking the laws.

Once the landscape and ecosystems are in place learning and mastering will not be an issue.

 

[entropys]

It is due to Quantity issues to supply products for the globe. India didn’t have that kind of scale of operation to fulfill anything beyond India. Samsung, LG, Hyundai, Daimler, Suzuki, Honda, Toyota etc having plants mostly trying to satisfy domestic demands. Previously infrastructure was also an issue where transportation was a bottleneck. India is a signatory if IP and honours patents hence they don’t hijack IPs and start putting their brands and compete with your customers later. This is one of the reasons India seems to be behind but in reality they don’t want to do International business by breaking the laws.

Once the landscape and ecosystems are in place learning and mastering will not be an issue.

Yes you just can’t start operating high tech manufacturing. You need the infrastructure and supply chains and appropriately educated and trained people. It takes time to build.
And as western nations that once had these things are discovering, there is a lot of ruin in a nation.

 

[norbinhouston]

Vietnam would have been a much better option.(Samsung been manufacturing their devices there for ages with very good track record)
I don't want any Apple device that was made in India.don't trust their standards at all.haven't seen anything good being made in India.

Again, the only reason Apple is manufacturing in India is to bypass the crazy high protectionist tariffs.

 

[GumaRodak]

To be honest, i expect india quality to be much worse....i deal in work with some india factories and i see how people behave...thats just my opinion....

 

[Wise Desi]

To be honest, i expect india quality to be much worse....i deal in work with some india factories and i see how people behave...thats just my opinion....

I actually use china made products and ****ing it breaks after 15 daya. Apple quality is different thank what your cheap as companies are asking.

 

[Wise Desi]

Vietnam would have been a much better option.(Samsung been manufacturing their devices there for ages with very good track record)
I don't want any Apple device that was made in India.don't trust their standards at all.haven't seen anything good being made in India.

Samsung os moving phone production to India out of Vietnam. Vietnam is getting expensive.