Big Labor Is a Big Barrier to Apple’s India Ambitions
India is front and center of Apple’s plans to diversify production away from China. But shaky infrastructure isn’t the only obstacle. There is another crucial complicating factor: a powerful and independent labor movement.
That is a major difference from China where, for better or worse, labor unions don’t exist as a political force independent of the ruling Communist Party. And with India’s contentious general elections coming up in early 2024, nascent labor reforms that are important to Apple’s plans could get caught up in the political crossfire. Apple plans to assemble more than 50 million iPhones in India annually within the next two to three years, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday.
That would be equal to around a quarter of 2022 global shipments—and an enormous step up from the 6% assembled in the nation last year, according to consulting firm Canalys. Foxconn, the world’s largest contract electronics manufacturer and a key Apple supplier, has rapidly increased investment in India, and in late November announced it was investing the equivalent of more than $1.5 billion in the country. Still, China remains far and away the top destination for phone assembly—and there are good reasons to expect that to continue for a long time, despite heavy pressure from Apple and others to diversify.
India’s southern Tamil Nadu state, home to Foxconn and Pegatron factories churning out iPhones, shelved a contentious bill permitting 12-hour factory shifts in April. The rule doesn’t change weekly working hours but would have helped Apple suppliers run two long daily shifts, instead of the current shorter three. That would have brought Tamil Nadu in line with China—where 12-hour workdays are allowed, bringing more efficiency to
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