SUMMARY
Women employees account for a majority of Apple’s workforce in India
While the Foxconn factory employs 30,000 women, Jabil has 4,200 women employees
Other than employing women at the Indian factories, Apple has also been actively working to educate rural women in India
Following the inauguration of India’s first Apple store in Mumbai BKC this morning, the Minister of State, Electronics, and IT, Rajeev Chandrashekhar tweeted that the tech giant has generated more than 1 Lakh jobs in the country.
In a tweet he mentioned the PLI scheme rolled out by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has played a significant role in enabling the Apple ecosystem to grow and generate robust employment over the last 24 months.
“Propelled by PM @narendramodi ji’s visionary PLI scheme @Apple ecosystem has generated over 1 lakh new direct jobs in manufacturing over the last 24 months. 70% of these are 19-24 yr women, who are starting their careers, acquiring skills and improving the ease of living for their families,” the minister tweeted.
According to a Business Standard report, most of the blue-collar women employees of Apple in India have become a part of the job market for the first time.
The Apple ecosystem in India comprises its vendors Foxconn, Pegatron, Wistron, Tatas, Salcomp, Avery, and Jabil. According to the report, the Foxconn factory has about 30,000 women out of 35,000 employees, accounting for 85% of its total workforce.
Further, Jabil, another Apple vendor, employs 4,200 women in its 6,000-employee strong workforce. Most of the women workers, who are either 12th passed or hold diplomas, are engaged at the assembly front.
Other than employing women at the Indian factories, Apple has also been actively working to educate rural women in India. The company has partnered with Barefoot College to train rural women to become solar engineers of their local communities.
Apple has been boosting the production and assembly of its products in the country. The Apple BKC store alone employs 100 professionals from different regions.
Recently, the company revealed that its iPhone production tripled in India to $7 Bn in the financial year 2022-23 (FY23). The Cupertino-based company now produces almost 7% of its iPhones in India as against a mere 1% in 2021.
In addition, Apple’s supplier Foxconn is planning to invest in Telangana and Karnataka to boost the production of its products in the country.
Meanwhile, Apple’s another contract manufacturer, Salcomp, has plans to double its headcount in India to 25,000 by 2026 as it ramps up operations in the country.
