Tech giant Apple on Monday said it is undertaking a detailed investigation following the violent incident at its supplier Wistron's Narasapura facility in Karnataka last week.
If reports that Apple Inc plans to triple its iPhone production in India come true, it is likely to help the country become a supply hub for the American company. There are some 190 Apple suppliers globally, but only 12 have manufacturing facilities in India now. Apple's strategy is to focus on India and a clutch of other countries as it diversifies its supply chain out of China.
Taiwan-headquartered Wistron Corporation has said that it had suffered a loss worth Rs 437.40 crore in the violence in its facility unleashed by a section of workers over salary issues at its plant in Kolar district in Karnataka.
A week after violence broke out at its Narasapura facility in Karnataka, contract manufacturer Wistron on Saturday said it has fired its vice-president who was heading India operations even as iPhone maker Apple placed the Taiwanese firm on probation. Wistron, which assembles the latest version of the iPhone SE at the violence-hit plant, admitted that there were faults in its wage payment processes. A section of workers at Wistron Corporation's facility in Narasapura Industrial Area in Kolar district near Bengaluru went on rampage last week over non-payment of their wages.
Apple Inc is commencing assembly of its iPhone 12 model in the country, a move that is expected to help the US tech giant further consolidate its position in the burgeoning smartphone market in India. Apple has partnered with third-party manufacturers like Foxconn and Wistron to make some of its phones in India. These include iPhone SE, iPhone 10R and iPhone 11.
The biggest worry is not the shrinking of the labour market, but the collapse of good jobs.