Sriperumbudur: Foxconn’s chairman has defended its hiring practices after New Delhi ordered investigations following a Reuters news agency report that the Apple supplier rejects married women for iPhone assembly jobs. The company, however, intends to set up a battery energy storage systems unit in India. “Foxconn hires regardless of gender, but women make up a large part of our workforce in Sriperumbudur,” Young Liu said during the groundbreaking ceremony of a hostel complex for its workers near Chennai in Tamil Nadu on Saturday. “I stress that married women contribute greatly to the efforts of what we are doing here,” he added, making his first comments since the Reuters investigation.
Liu did not respond to media queries at the hostel complex, which the state government says is “exclusively” for 18,720 female Foxconn workers. The multi-story buildings of the hostel are located near the iPhone manufacturing plant.
What happened to Foxconn’s hiring process?
The Reuters investigation published in June found that Foxconn systematically excluded married women from jobs at its main iPhone assembly plant in India on the grounds that they have more family responsibilities than their single counterparts. Foxconn acknowledged some lapses in hiring practices in 2022 and said it had worked to address the issues, but added that it “strongly refutes allegations of workplace discrimination.” The story sparked television debates and newspaper editorials.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who met the company’s chief executive in New Delhi on August 15, ordered Tamil Nadu to submit a “detailed report” on the matter, and his labour officials also visited the iPhone factory to question executives. New Delhi has yet to release any findings.
Foxconn told labor officials that its main iPhone factory in India employs 41,281 people, including 33,360 women. Of these women, about 2,750, or about 8 percent, were married. It did not break down staff numbers in specific areas such as iPhone assembly, where Reuters reported discrimination was taking place. In recent years, Foxconn has expanded in India, where it makes iPhones and products for other smartphone brands, and has plans to enter AirPods and chip manufacturing.
Foxconn aims to create battery energy storage unit
It is worth mentioning that Taiwan’s Foxconn has been expanding in India in recent years, where it makes iPhones and products for other smartphone brands, and has plans to enter the AirPods market and chip manufacturing. Still, Foxconn pulled out of a $19.5 billion semiconductor joint venture with Indian conglomerate Vedanta in July last year, dealing a setback to New Delhi’s chip manufacturing plans.
Still, on Sunday, the company’s chief said it is working on plans to set up a battery energy storage system unit in India. “We are also looking forward to putting our 3+3 future industry in India. I have been talking with the industries minister here about how we can collaborate on BESS (battery energy storage system) in Tamil Nadu…” Liu said. As part of the “3+3 strategy,” Foxconn has prioritized three key industries — electric vehicles, digital health and robotics — each with significant growth potential with a current scale of USD 1.4 trillion and a compound annual growth rate of more than 20 percent.
Foxconn’s battery storage business is more focused on electric vehicles. Battery energy storage systems (BESS) enable the storage of energy from renewable sources such as solar and wind. Foxconn has installed its first BESS unit in Taiwan for electric buses. The unit is expected to begin mass production this year.
(With contributions from agencies)
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