iPhone Charger Supplier Salcomp to Double Its Workforce in India to 25,000 Over Next 2-3 Years

Finland’s Salcomp, a supplier to U.S. tech group Apple, is looking to more than double its workforce in India to nearly 25,000 over the next 2-3 years, a company executive said on Monday.

Salcomp, a major supplier of chargers to Apple for its iPhone models, is also building a large housing complex with entertainment and education for about 15,000 people, the executive added.

A tax official told Reuters earlier this month that India expects to manufacture more mobile phones this year after the government eliminated import tariffs on some components used to assemble high-end phones from global companies such as Apple.

The move comes as Apple aims to boost its share of India-produced phones to 25 percent. Apple exports from India hit $1 billion (roughly Rs. 8,190 crore) in December.

Last month, Apple-supplier Jabil Inc’s India unit reportedly began making components for AirPods in the country and shipping plastic bodies or enclosures for AirPods to China and Vietnam.

The Cupertino, California-based company has bet big on India since it began assembling iPhone models in the country in 2017 via Wistron, and later with Foxconn, in line with the Indian government’s push for local manufacturing.

Foxconn plans to quadruple the workforce at its iPhone factory in India over two years, sources told Reuters late last year.

Apple wants India to account for up to 25 percent of its production from about 5 percent – 7 percent now, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said in a conference last month, as the iPhone maker continues to move its manufacturing away from China.

© Thomson Reuters 2023