What They Say
Contract manufacturer Wistron Corp has suffered a riot at an iPhone factory in India, reportedly over unpaid wages, although the company had commissioned employment agencies to pay the workers, according to a Taiwanese businessman with knowledge of the situation.
After the riots, Taiwanese sources say that Apple has suspended orders to Wistron. The problems have also taken the gloss off the idea of making more products in India for the moment, a move designed to help deal with US/China tensions.
According to Taiwanese media outlets, Wistron’s production lines in India specialize in assembling more affordable iPhones, with the iPhone SE accounting for most of its production, but they began rolling out smaller iPhone 12 models in the second half of 2020.
What We Think
This certainly won’t make moving production to India look more attractive! However, there is a big local market. IDC recently published data showing sales of 21 million smartphone units in India in October, up 42% on last year. However, Apple is not in the list of top five brands which are Xiaomi, followed by Samsung, vivo, realme, and Oppo. (BR)
Police, elected officials survey the damage. Image take from facebook.com/MuniswamyOfficial
