Taiwanese electronics company Wistron is set to wind down its operations in India after more than fifteen years in the market. The company plans to mostly withdraw from the country and is expected to approach the National Company Law Tribunal and the Registrar of Companies to dissolve its India operations within the next year. Tata Electronics will take over Wistron’s iPhone manufacturing facilities in Karnataka, which constitute the largest portion of its overall business in India.
Although Wistron had additional registered companies in India involved in the Internet of Things (IoT) space and was in talks with American laptop companies and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in the electric vehicle sector, these plans are unlikely to come to fruition in India.
Wistron’s first Indian subsidiary, ICT Service Management Solutions (India) Private Limited, was established in 2008 as a sales and maintenance service center. According to the company’s 2021 annual report, two more subsidiaries were registered in India: Wistron InfoComm Manufacturing (India) Private Limited (established in 2018, which secured the Apple contract) and Smartiply India Private Limited (incorporated in 2020, focusing on product and platform development for IoT). Both companies are set to be dissolved.
Sources indicate that Wistron’s remaining operations in India will be limited to the services business for the repair and maintenance of Apple products. The winding-down process will begin once Tata Electronics completes the takeover of the iPhone plant. Wistron is also awaiting additional subsidy payments under the mobile production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme before initiating the process.
Wistron currently employs over 12,000 people in India, with the majority of them working at the unit being acquired by the Tata Group.
