Highlights
- Foxconn’s new iPhone assembly plant near Bengaluru has hired 30,000 workers in under nine months.
- Around 80% of employees are women aged 19–24, many first-time workers, supported with dormitories, free housing, subsidised meals and Rs 18,000 monthly wages.
- The 300-acre facility will scale to 50,000 jobs and 12 assembly lines with an investment of Rs 20,000 crore.
Caption – Apple has been making efforts to diversify its manufacturing footprint beyond China. (Image credit – Unknown)
Taiwanese manufacturing giant Foxconn has hired close to 30,000 workers at its newly established iPhone assembly facility near Bengaluru within just eight to nine months. According to a report by The Economic Times, this marks one of the fastest factory ramp-ups ever recorded in India.
Located in Devanahalli, the facility is largely operated by women and employs mostly first-time workers between the ages of 19 and 24. The development highlights Apple’s accelerating efforts to diversify its manufacturing footprint beyond China and strengthen India’s role in its global supply chain.
Spanning roughly 300 acres, the plant began test production of iPhone 16 models during April–May earlier this year. It has now moved on to assembling the latest iPhone 17 Pro Max units, sources cited in the report said. More than 80 percent of the devices produced at the facility are being exported, underlining India’s growing importance in Apple’s worldwide manufacturing strategy.
Women make up around 80 percent of the workforce at the Devanahalli plant, many of whom are entering the workforce for the first time. To support employees, Foxconn has constructed six large dormitories, several of which are already operational. More housing facilities are still under development. Once the factory reaches full capacity next year, total employment is expected to rise to about 50,000 workers.
With further expansion plans in place, the Devanahalli unit is projected to accommodate more women workers at a single site than any other government or private facility in India. Employees have relocated from neighbouring states, and the campus is gradually being developed into a self-contained township with residential, medical, educational, and recreational amenities.
Workers at the facility are provided free accommodation, subsidised meals, and earn an average monthly salary of around Rs 18,000, among the highest wages for women in blue-collar manufacturing roles in the country.
Foxconn is investing close to Rs 20,000 crore in the project, which is expected to become India’s largest factory in terms of both workforce size and production capacity once fully operational. At peak scale, the plant is likely to host up to 12 iPhone assembly lines, compared to about four currently, and will surpass Foxconn’s existing iPhone manufacturing facility in Tamil Nadu.
The rapid expansion has been supported by India’s production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme introduced in 2021. As Apple continues to shift a larger share of iPhone manufacturing to India amid global geopolitical uncertainties, all iPhone models are now assembled in the country from the start of production and shipped worldwide.
Apple’s India manufacturing ecosystem is backed by a supply chain of nearly 45 companies involved in components, sub-assemblies, and logistics. New hires at the Devanahalli facility undergo around six weeks of on-the-job training before joining production, as Apple and its partners focus on skill development and strengthening local manufacturing capabilities.
FAQs
Q1. How many jobs has Foxconn created at its new iPhone factory near Bengaluru?
Answer. Foxconn has hired close to 30,000 workers within just eight to nine months, with plans to expand to 50,000 employees by next year.
Q2. Who makes up the majority of the workforce at the Devanahalli plant?
Answer. Around 80% of the workforce are women, mostly first-time workers aged between 19 and 24.
Q3. What iPhone models are being assembled at the new facility?
Answer. The plant began test production of iPhone 16 models earlier in 2025 and is now assembling the iPhone 17 Pro Max with over 80% of units exported.