The Economic Times (ET) reported that within just eight to nine months, this is the quickest workforce scale-up achieved by any factory in India so far.
The pace of hiring underlines Apple’s broader strategy to reduce dependence on China by strengthening manufacturing operations in India.
Spread across 300 acres, the plant is distinctive for its women-led workforce. Nearly 80% of employees are women, most of them first-time job seekers aged between 19 and 24, ET reported citing sources.
“The factory began trial production in April–May this year with the iPhone 16 and is now manufacturing the latest iPhone 17 Pro Max models,” a person aware of the details told ET. More than 80% of the output is shipped overseas, the person added.
Capacity, housing and expansion plans
According to another source cited by ET, the Devanahalli unit has the potential to employ as many as 50,000 workers when it reaches peak production next year. “There are six large dormitories, several of which are currently functional to house the women staff, and construction for the rest are also in full swing,” the person said.
With further expansion planned, the site is expected to accommodate more women workers at a single location than any other government or private establishment in India. Migrant women from neighbouring states have also secured employment at the facility, which is envisaged to evolve into a self-contained township with housing, healthcare, schools and recreational amenities, according to the report.
Estimates cited by ET suggest that, alongside free accommodation and subsidised meals, workers earn an average monthly salary of around ₹18,000 — among the higher wage levels for women in blue-collar roles.
Investment and policy backdrop
Foxconn is investing roughly ₹20,000 crore in the Karnataka project, which is expected to become India’s largest factory in terms of production capacity and employment once fully operational.
With a production floor area of nearly 250,000 square feet, the facility is set to surpass Foxconn’s older iPhone plant in Tamil Nadu, which employs about 41,000 workers, as per ET.
A government official told ET that the project ranks among the most significant successes of the Modi government’s push to raise manufacturing’s share of GDP. People closely following the project said the factory is expected to eventually operate up to a dozen iPhone assembly lines, compared with about four currently.
India’s growing role in Apple’s supply chain
Apple has been steadily shifting iPhone production from China to India, supported by the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme launched in 2021. “Apple’s operations in India are a shining example of government–industry partnership,” a government official told ET. “This size and speed of expansion was unimaginable just four years ago. Apple’s plant has broken multiple records setting a new benchmark for what is possible in manufacturing and exports from India.”
Amid geopolitical uncertainties, India has emerged as a critical node in Apple’s global supply chain. All iPhone models are now produced in India from the start of manufacturing and exported globally.
Apple’s ecosystem in India has expanded to nearly 45 supplier companies, while newly hired women workers undergo six weeks of on-the-job training before joining production lines, according to ET.
