Apple’s growing presence in India is expected to generate up to 600,000 jobs by the end of the fiscal year, as the tech giant continues to expand its manufacturing operations in the country, diversifying away from China. By March, Apple aims to have created 200,000 direct jobs, with women comprising 70% of the workforce, according to data provided by the company and its suppliers to the government.
Apple’s three major contract manufacturers in India—Foxconn, Wistron (now Tata Electronics), and Pegatron—have already created 80,872 direct jobs. Additionally, suppliers like Tata Group, Salcomp, Motherson, Foxlink in Tamil Nadu, Sunwoda in Uttar Pradesh, ATL in Haryana, and Jabil in Maharashtra have collectively generated around 84,000 direct jobs. This makes Apple the largest blue-collar job creator in India in recent years, with a significant portion of these jobs being filled by women and first-time workers.
Since the launch of the smartphone Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme in 2020, which aimed to create 200,000 direct jobs over five years, the Apple ecosystem has already met this target in just four years, as per officials. Tata Group’s facility in Hosur, Tamil Nadu, is also expected to hire around 50,000 employees in the future.
Industry experts note that Apple has successfully replicated its China model in India, leading to substantial job creation across its manufacturing and app development ecosystem. Over the past 25 years, Apple is believed to have created more than 4 million jobs in China. India, where Apple began manufacturing iPhones in 2021, now contributes about 14% to the company’s global production, doubling its share from the previous fiscal year.
Apple’s vendors and suppliers are also planning to build housing complexes for their employees, with the State Industries Promotion Corporation of Tamil Nadu (SIPCOT) playing a significant role in these developments. The Tata Group and SPR India are involved in constructing these housing units.
