Apple contract manufacturer Wistron has reopened the iPhone factory in Karnataka, southern India. The factory was temporarily closed late last year after riots broke out over unpaid wages.
According to the Economic Times, it is currently operating with a reduced workforce of around 6,000 people. This is around half the number that it had late last year. Wistron will reportedly gradually scale back up the numbers.
“Made in India” iPads are one step closer, as the country’s government has approved an incentive plan that could benefit the likes of Apple, Reuters reports.
Apple has temporarily stopped working with Wistron, the iPhone supplier that this month had riots break out at its Indian factory due to alleged mistreatment of employees.
In a statement, Apple said that it has put the manufacturer on probation. It will not receive new Apple business until it has carried out corrective actions.
The state government in Karnataka, India found multiple labor law violations at the iPhone factory where workers rioted last weekend, a new report claims.
The riot took place at a Wistron factory. It resulted in $7 million of damage, with thousands of iPhones stolen during the protest. The government report — from the Department of Factories, Boilers, Industrial Safety and Health — says that underpayment of wages, poor factory conditions, and irregular hours were all common at the plant.
Riots broke out over the weekend at a Wistron factory in southern India that produces iPhones, resulting in around 100 people being arrested. Thousands of iPhones were stolen during the incident.
The riots were reportedly related to allegations about unpaid wages and other exploitation. Workers were allegedly not paid for several months, and made to do mandatory overtime. Protestors broke windows at the factory on the outskirts of Bangalore, pulled down CCTV cameras, and flipped cars onto their sides.
Apple’s partnership with Foxconn, its largest manufacturing partner, is “eroding” as a result of the supposedly shady tactics that Foxconn is using in an effort to boost profits, according to a new report.
It is claimed that Foxconn has exaggerated hiring counts, used Apple equipment to produce orders for other companies, and cut corners on component and product testing.
iPhone assemblers in India have been forced to suspect production due to a country-wide COVID-19 lockdown, according to a report published on Wednesday.
Facilities owned by Foxconn and Wistron are out of action for now. Production won’t resume until Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government lifts new lockdown measures.
The COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak may be continuing apace, but Apple manufacturers are getting back to work.
According to two new reports published Wednesday, Apple contract manufacturers Compal Electronics and Wistron are joining Foxconn in planning for production levels to return to normal by the end of March. Apple’s A-series chipmaker TSMC is also gearing up to start producing its new 5-nanometer chips.
Apple contract manufacturer Wistron is reportedly ramping up its iPhone production abilities in India. Wistron already has two plants located in Bengaluru, which have been producing iPhones for the local market. But now it’s got a third, located in Narasapura, which will also build phones for Apple.
This will greatly increase Wistron’s abilities to build large quantities of iPhones for Apple.
Struggling Apple display maker Japan Display claims it has nailed down an extra $830 million in bailout financial support from Japanese asset manager Ichigo Asset Management.
Ichigo joins Apple and Apple contract manufacturer Wistron in the effort to save the beleaguered business. And it wouldn’t have done it without Cupertino’s support.
Two more manufacturers which regularly do work with Apple are eying up new potential plant locations outside of China. Wistron is reportedly looking to open a factory in the U.S. or, as a backup, Mexico. Chassis maker Catcher is, meanwhile, looking at Southeast Asia or Taiwan as locations.
This comes at a time when fears about a burgeoning trade war between China and the U.S. is making people worried about possible future trade.
Apple supplier Wistron has started manufacturing iPhone 7 handsets in India. This is the third model iPhone to be made in the country, following the iPhone SE and iPhone 6s.
“We are proud to be producing iPhone 7 in Bengaluru for our local customers, furthering our long-term commitment in India,” Apple told the Economic Times newspaper.
Apple is one step closer to manufacturing flagship iPhones in India for the first time.
India’s IT ministry today signed off on plans to build a local Wistron factory that is expected to produce the iPhone 8. It should make the device significantly more affordable to local consumers in the future.
More and more Apple suppliers are considering building devices in India, and a new concession might make that possibility even more plausible.
According to a new report, India has deferred a plan which would have introduced tax on touch panel imports. These tariffs were supposed to be introduced in February, but have supposedly been delayed until at least April 2020. This follows lobbying from smartphone makers.
Apple is hoping to secure new tax incentives in India that will allow it to increase local iPhone production and export more devices to be sold in other countries.
The company has teamed up with other large names in the Indian Cellular and Electronics Association (ICEA) to propose a raise in export credits on smartphone shipments, as well as tariff cuts on imports of components and machinery.
The group argues that manufacturing growth cannot be sustained and accelerated without the changes.
Wistron, one of Apple’s iPhone manufacturers, is ramping up its investment in India. According to a new report, the company has vastly increased its authorized capital expenditure in India to meet its future development plans.
This follows on from another recent report, suggesting that fellow manufacturer Foxconn is set to start building flagship iPhones in the country.
Apple plans to start manufacturing another iPhone in India, according to a new report.
Partner Wistron has already started trial production of the iPhone 6s Plus at its Bangalore plant, where it has been assembling the iPhone SE since last year. Source say mass-production will begin in “the next couple of weeks.”
Apple has reportedly suspended production at one of its iPhone manufacturing plants in China as the result of the use of unauthorized components.
The story concerns a Wistron plant in Kunshan, China, where the iPhone 8 Plus is manufactured. Production has allegedly been suspended for two weeks, although Wistron insists that this is not true and that, “operations remain completely normal.”
Apple is set to make another major play for emerging markets next year with the rumored release of a new iPhone SE 2 handset.
According to a rumor out of Apple’s supply chain, the new iPhone SE 2 will be assembled by Taiwanese manufacturer Winstron, only all units will be put together in Bengaluru, India.
Apple manufacturer Wistron reportedly wants to expand its iPhone SE manufacturing in India. The company is currently scouting for 100 acres of land to help it do so.
Wistron has quietly shortlisted several possible locations in Bangalore for its new facility, including one close to the nearby airport. In addition to Apple, the new facility may also be used to supply other brands.
Apple is reportedly paying the legal costs of four of its assemblers, Foxconn, Pegatron, Wistron and Compal, as they challenge Qualcomm in court.
In a filing made late Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California, the Apple suppliers allege that Qualcomm has violated two sections of the U.S. antitrust law, the Sherman Act.
Want to be one of the first to get your hands on Apple’s big iPhone 8 upgrade this fall? Prepare yourself for disappointment.
According to a new report, the device won’t enter mass-production until months after its official unveiling, and only small quantities will be available at first.
Apple’s first iPhone SE units manufactured in India are now on sale in the country.
“Designed by Apple in California, Assembled in India,” reads the tagline on the back. Despite being made locally, the devices cost exactly the same as those shipped from China.
Qualcomm has asked a court to force iPhone suppliers to keep paying it royalty payments while it is in the middle of its standoff with Apple.
The tech giant has updated one of its lawsuits to include what it claims is additional evidence about Apple instructing third-party suppliers not to pay money they owe to Qualcomm. Qualcomm suggests that this is an underhanded tactic on Apple’s part to force it to settle sooner.
To encourage manufacturing in India, Indian authorities have offered to let Apple import smartphone components for use in local manufacturing, tax free.
Apple previously asked for a 15-year tax holiday from paying tax on importing components it needed for Indian manufacturing. The request was denied by authorities, but it seems that a compromise may be reached, whereby Apple will gradually increase the local production of components in India.
