iPhone maker Apple is now preparing to build more than 78,000 houses, know what is the plan
New Delhi: America’s leading tech company Apple, which manufactures iPhone, is preparing to build more than 78,000 houses in India. Apple has created 150,000 direct jobs in India in the last two and a half years. Now Apple Ecosystem is preparing to provide residential facilities to its factory employees in India on the lines of industrial housing in China and Vietnam. According to government officials, Apple’s contract manufacturers and suppliers are planning to build houses for their employees. in these
Foxconn, Tata and Salcomp are also included. These houses are being built under public-private partnership. More than 78,000 units are to be constructed under this scheme. Of these, Tamil Nadu will get the maximum of about 58,000 houses.
Most of the houses in Tamil Nadu are being built by the State Industry Promotion Corporation of Tamil Nadu. Tata Group and SPR India are also building houses. Under the scheme, the central government will provide 10-15% funding while the rest of the money will be provided by state governments and companies. The construction and handover process to the private sector is likely to be completed in the financial year ending March 31, 2025, officials said. An official said, ‘The objective of this scheme is to improve efficiency and provide security especially to migrant women workers. Most of them are between 19 and 24 years of age. Officials said such a large housing scheme, especially for women, at one location is the first of its kind in India. Most of the workers live on rent and have to travel for hours in buses to reach factories. Since many employees are women, this also creates safety issues.
House near factory
According to officials, the electronics industry is location sensitive and should be near a major airport so that cargo can be easily shipped out. The government wants to ensure comfortable housing for the workers as many of them come from different parts of the country. You need to ensure that workers are given good quality houses close to factories, S Krishnan, secretary, Ministry of Electronics and IT, told ET. This improves productivity and working conditions. Foxconn, the largest supplier of iPhones for Apple in India, will get 35,000 houses. The company’s factory is in Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu. Foxconn currently employs 41,000 workers, of which 75% are women.
Tata Electronics is manufacturing 11,500 units for its employees at the Hosur facility. Tata mainly manufactures iPhone enclosures for domestic use and export. Salcomp, which makes power adapters, enclosures and magnetics for Apple, will use 3,969 housing units. Apple, Foxconn and Salcomp did not respond to questions about this. There has been a slowdown in the US and China markets amid geopolitical tensions. For this reason, Apple is focusing on India, which is the second largest smartphone market in the world.
Wistron’s plan
Apple started manufacturing iPhones in India in 2017 and increased production under the production linked incentive scheme that started in August 2021. The company is assembling its latest iPhone models through Foxconn, Wistron and Pegatron and is also manufacturing components in India itself. Sources say that the housing scheme is being made on the initiative of Apple. Work at the Wistron facility in Narasapura, Karnataka in 2020 and at the Foxconn factory in Tamil Nadu in December 2021 was affected due to employee dissatisfaction. The ownership of Wistron has now come to Tata Group. Wistron can build houses for workers near its factory. The company directly employs about 27,000 employees.
