iPhone 13 production is expected to start in April at Foxconn’s plant in Chennai, India. This was originally scheduled to happen in January, but it was delayed after Apple placed the facility on probation following worker complaints about the conditions there.
It’s just one of a number of issues Apple has faced as it continues efforts to reduce its dependence on China …
Background
Two separate iPhone plants in India, run by different companies, have had production suspended after Apple investigated complaints by workers.
In early December 2021, there was a riot by workers who had not received their full pay at a Wistron plant. The damage was estimated at $60M. Both Apple and the Indian government investigated, each upholding the worker complaints.
Later the same month, a Foxconn plant was shutdown after Apple acted on complaints about working conditions. The details made truly gruesome reading.
It was at this plant that iPhone 13 production was due to start in January – plans which had to be delayed after Apple put the plant on probation until the problems were resolved.
iPhone 13 production starting in India
Foxconn has now apparently resolved the poor conditions, as India’s Business Standard reports that iPhone 13 production will now begin there in April.
Seven months after it was launched in India, Apple is expected to start manufacturing the iPhone 13 at the Foxconn plant in Sriperumbudur near Chennai from April, according to sources. The phones will be for both the domestic and export market.
The production of the iPhone 13 in the Chennai plant was meant to start from January but had to be postponed after Apple suspended production following protests in December by women workers about food poisoning.
It’s not known what proportion of the phones made there will be for the export market, but Apple is working toward a diverse iPhone assembly network around the world. I recently argued that the Ukraine crisis served to highlight the company’s unsustainable dependence on China.
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