Foxconn Has Invested $10 Bn In India So Far, Says Chairman Young Liu

Foxconn chairman Young Liu has said that the Taiwanese electronics manufacturer has invested $10 Bn in India so far and has plans to infuse more capital in the country in the coming year. 

“So far, till last year, we have done $10 Bn. We will do much more in this coming year,” Liu said as per news agency PTI.

Speaking on the sidelines of the inauguration of a women-only residential complex near its plant in Tamil Nadu’s Sriperumbudur, Liu said that India is on the rise. He said that the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) is looking to be a part of the country’s growth story. 

As per the report, the complex will offer housing facilities for more than 18,000 of the company’s women employees on a room-sharing basis. Built by the State Industries Promotion Corporation of Tamil Nadu (SIPCOT), the project is spread over 20 acres of area and has been constructed at a cost of INR 706 Cr. 

Addressing allegations of job discrimination against married women at its Tamil Nadu plant, Liu said that the company hires employees regardless of gender. 

“Foxconn hires regardless of gender, but women do make up a big part of our workforce here. I would emphasise that married women greatly contribute to the efforts of what we are doing here,” the Foxconn chairman reportedly added. 

Liu’s comments come two months after a news report alleged that the Apple vendor followed discriminatory hiring practices and excluded married women from jobs at its iPhone assembly facility in Sriperumbudur. 

At the time, a former company executive had said that Foxconn “generally refrains” from hiring married women due to perceived ‘cultural issues’ and societal pressures. 

The iPhone maker had rejected the report and claimed that 25% of its new hires were married women. Foxconn went on to claim that the Foxconn factory employed about 70% women. 

It is pertinent to note that Foxconn presently has around 48,000 employees in India.

The developments come as Liu is currently on a multi-leg trip to India. On the eve of the Independence Day, he met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and discussed Foxconn’s investments in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Telangana.

He also met with the chief ministers (CMs) and state cabinet ministers of these three states.

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