Apple Supplier Jabil Mulls India Expansion With Two More Plants

Apple’s key supplier Jabil is reportedly planning to set up two more manufacturing units in India over the next three to four years as it aims to expand its footprint in the iPhone market.

As per ET, the company is looking to invest an additional $250-$275 Mn for the new plants.

“Right now, they have two units in Pune where they make WiFi, NFC (near field technology), RFID (radio frequency identification technology), camera optics, and some other power electronics. They have proposed to set up one more unit in Tamil Nadu,” a senior Tamil Nadu government official was quoted as saying in the report.

The official also added that on the back of growing demand for consumer electronics, home appliances and e-mobility needs, the company is planning to expand and set up more units.

Inc42 has reached out to Jabil for comments on the development. The story will be updated based on the response.

“They might look to get into making plastic casings for chargers, some older iPhone models, AirPods and maybe even some components for Apple watches and Mac. It will be a mix of assembly and manufacturing units,” another official was quoted as saying in the report.

As of January 2023, Jabil’s Indian unit is a 858,000 sq ft manufacturing facility based in Pune. It employs more than 2,500 workers in the country.

The electronics maker commenced manufacturing AirPods components in India and meanwhile, began shipping AirPods’ enclosures or plastic bodies to China and Vietnam, then.

This development comes a month after the company revealed its plans to invest INR 2,000 Cr to build an electronics manufacturing facility in Tamil Nadu’s Trichy.

Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin announced this development on Tuesday (September 10) on X stating, “A significant investment of INR 2,000 Cr at Tiruchirapalli by Jabil, a global leader in EMS. This will create 5,000 jobs and create a new cluster for electronics manufacturing.”

It is noted that several electronics manufacturers have competently expanded their footprint in India, with Foxconn, Wistron, Tata Electronics, and Kaynes Technology known to lead this trend.

Furthermore, Foxconn, an industry competitor of Jabil, was also in plans to invest around $1 Bn (INR 8,354 Cr), in late September, for setting up a smartphone display module assembly plant in Tamil Nadu, as per reports.