Apple focuses on housing for Indian factory workers. Plans 78,000 homes
After creating 150,000 direct jobs in two and a half years, the Apple ecosystem is now turning its attention to providing living space for factory workers, echoing the models of industrial housing seen in China and Vietnam, as reported by The Economic Times (ET).
Government officials said Apple’s contract manufacturers and suppliers, including Foxconn, Tata and Salcomp, are developing housing for their workers. These homes are being built through a public-private partnership, which is the largest private sector initiative of its kind. The initiative aims to build over 78,000 units, with Tamil Nadu receiving the highest allocation of 58,000 units.
Most of the housing construction is carried out by the State Industries Promotion Corporation of Tamil Nadu (SIPCOT). In addition, the Tata Group and SPR India are involved in the construction of homes.
Under the scheme, the Center is expected to contribute 10 to 15 percent of the funding, while the remaining portion will come from state governments and entrepreneurs. Officials expect construction and handover to the private sector to be completed within the current fiscal year ending March 31, 2025.
“The massive worker housing initiative aims to increase efficiency and provide security, especially for migrant women workers, majority of whom fall in the age group of 19 to 24 years,” an official said.
This large-scale employee housing project, specially tailored for women workers, is a first in India, officials said.
Currently, most workers live in rental properties and have to travel for long periods of time by bus to reach the factories. Since a significant portion of the workforce consists of women, this setup also raises safety concerns, she added.
Officials further noted that the electronics industry is sensitive to location and benefits from proximity to a major airport for easy cargo transportation. The government aims to provide comfortable housing to workers, many of whom come from different parts of the country.
“Therefore, you need to ensure that they are provided with good quality housing somewhere close to the factory as it improves productivity and working conditions and also results in better welfare outcomes for the workers,” said S Krishnan, secretary of the ministry. of electronics and IT (Meity), to AND.
Apple’s largest iPhone supplier in India, Foxconn, based in Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu, will use nearly 35,000 of these units. Foxconn currently employs 41,000 employees, 75 percent of whom are women.
Tata Electronics is building 11,500 units for its employees at the Hosur plant. Tata’s primary focus is on manufacturing iPhone cases for both domestic use and exports.
Salcomp, a manufacturer of power adapters, enclosures and magnets for Apple, will use 3,969 housing units.
The US tech giant has intensified its focus on India, the world’s second-largest smartphone market, amid geopolitical tensions. At the same time, the country has also experienced a downturn in its key markets, the US and China.
The company started manufacturing iPhones in India in 2017 and expanded local production under the Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) program, which launched in August 2021. Since then, it has been working with suppliers to assemble the latest iPhone models through its contract manufacturers: Foxconn. , Wistron and Pegatron – and has also increased local production of components.
First print: April 8, 2024 | 11:04 am IST