Both Apple and its chief iPhone assembler Foxconn are said to have been involved in lobbying efforts that led to changes in Indian labor laws.
Foxconn is just one of Apple’s suppliers that are working to move some of their manufacturing capacity to the country, with Chinese factories proving unreliable in recent years.
Now, labor laws in the southern Indian state of Karnataka have been changed to make them more favorable to companies like Foxconn.
Longer hours, overnight shifts
Reports by The Financial Times (opens in new tab) and DigiTimes Asia (opens in new tab) claim that Karnataka passed a new labor law on March 1 that allows people to work differently to how they were permitted previously.
According to reports, changes include an increase in overtime hours from 75 per month to 145, while women will now also be allowed to work between 7:00 pm and 6:00 am so long as suitable transport is available — including CCTV and GPS for monitoring purposes. Employers will be responsible for making those things available.
One other notable change means that workers will be able to work up to twelve hours a day for four consecutive days before taking three days off. That’s an increase from the previous nine-hour limitation.
It’s thought that both Foxconn and Apple lobbied to have these changes approved.
This is all beneficial to companies like Foxconn who continue to eye India as a potential home for factories that would normally be located in China. Production in Chinese factories like the one in Zhengzhou has been hampered by COVID-19 lockdowns and worker riots of late. That plant, also known as iPhone City, employs around 200,000 workers and is the only plant capable of assembling Apple’s best iPhones. That reliance on Chinese manufacturing has Apple uneasy given ongoing tensions between the country and the United States.
By moving at least some of its manufacturing capacity to India, Foxconn could ensure that we don’t see stock shortages like those that affected the iPhone 14 lineup last year when the iPhone 15 rolls around in September.
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