Apple to Manufacture iPhone 16 Pro in India, Likely to Create 200,000 Direct Jobs by 2025

August 29, 2024 Posted by India Briefing Written by Archana Rao Reading Time: 3 minutes

Apple Inc., one of the largest smartphone companies in the world, is reportedly keen on further expanding its foothold in India. As per recent media reports, the company is expected to generate 600,000 jobs in the country by the end of the financial year 2025.

US smartphone behemoth Apple Inc. is reportedly planning to produce its upcoming iPhone Pro models in India for the first time. According to media reports, this move could lead to the creation of over 600,000 jobs in the country by the end of the ongoing financial year 2024-25. Additionally, it is also expected that the company will generate around 200,000 direct jobs, with 70 percent of these positions being allocated to women. Each direct job is expected to create three indirect jobs in India.

A Bloomberg report, published in August this year, suggested that Apple supplier Foxconn’s production facility in Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu, will begin manufacturing the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max models, which are set to be launched globally on September 9, 2024.

Expanding manufacturing capacities of existing facilities

Apple has been exploring the idea of producing its iPhone Pro models in India “for the last few years.” The US tech giant has now opted to manufacture the initial batch of these India-made iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max models within this fiscal year.

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Apple’s three contract manufacturers in India—Foxconn, Wistron (now Tata Electronics), and Pegatron—have already generated 80,872 direct jobs. Additionally, the broader supplier network, which includes companies like Tata Group, Salcomp, Motherson, Foxlink in Tamil Nadu, Sunwoda in Uttar Pradesh, ATL in Haryana, and Jabil in Maharashtra, has reportedly created around 84,000 direct jobs.

The 2023-24 Economic Survey underscores India’s growing significance in Apple’s global manufacturing strategy, contributing around 14 percent to Apple’s overall production, up from about 7 percent in FY23. The Tata Group’s manufacturing facilities in Hosur, Tamil Nadu, are expected to significantly increase employment in the region, with the iPhone manufacturing unit anticipated to employ around 50,000 people in the coming years.

Indian state Tamil Nadu leads in iPhone manufacturing

Earlier in August 2024, Jitin Prasada, India’s minister of state for electronics and information technology, said in the Parliament that over 43,000 people are engaged in the manufacturing process of Apple’s iPhones in Tamil Nadu state alone.

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Experts have indicated that of the 200,000 direct jobs expected to be generated by Apple, approximately 90,000 are likely to be generated by the iPhone and component manufacturing facilities of Foxconn and Tata in Tamil Nadu. The state has emerged as a leader in electronics manufacturing. On August 18, 2024, state Chief Minister, MK Stalin, inaugurated a large industrial housing complex built at a cost of INR 7.06 billion (US$84.11 million). The facility will accommodate around 18,720 workers, primarily women employed at the Foxconn iPhone factory.

In addition to the housing complex in Sriperumbudur, Apple’s vendors and suppliers are planning to build more housing complexes for their employees in other regions through a public-private partnership model. Most of these housing units are being developed by the State Industries Promotion Corporation of Tamil Nadu (SIPCOT), with Tata Group and SPR India also involved in constructing homes for their workforce.

On July 31, 2024, Foxconn announced an investment of INR 16 billion (US$190.6 million) to establish an electronics manufacturing facility in Tamil Nadu’s Kanchipuram district, which in turn is expected to create jobs for 6,000 people.

Apple Inc.’s Indian activities restricted to assembling

Apple has become the first global value chain (GVC) to rapidly shift a portion of its supply chain from China to India. The company began manufacturing iPhones in the country in 2021, marking its first production outside of China. Since then, iPhone production in India has steadily increased through Apple’s three contract manufacturers, reaching INR 1.20 trillion (US$14.2 billion) in FY24, with INR 850 billion (US$10.12 billion) being exported.

While Apple Inc. has noticeably increased its production activities from India, experts believe that the move will not lead to a price reduction of the smartphones (iPhones) in the domestic market. This may be due to the fact that the overall duty on assembled units remains high because most components are still imported in completely knocked-down kits, with less than 10 percent of an iPhone’s value being added in India through assembly.

(US$1 = INR 83.96)

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