With focus on India, Apple may likely drive 120,000 jobs by FY24: Report

With increasing focus of Apple in India, the company is likely to lead to the job creation with 120,000 new jobs in FY24, staffing firm TeamLease Services told Economic Times.

Of these, 120,000, 40,000 could be direct while 80,000 indirect employment centred on the manufacturing side with retail contributing lower smaller numbers.

The staffing firm also told the daily that by FY26, it is anticipated that at least 300,000 new positions could be added from which a 100,000 could be direct and 200,000 indirect.

Karthik Narayan, Chief executive of the company told ET that with additional plants and factories being planned, additional 1 lakh would come up in next 36 months.

Livemint could not independently verify the development.

Last week, India’s electronics and IT minister, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, announced that Apple phones would be manufactured in a new 300-acre factory in Karnataka. The company is making the change after its vice president in charge of India, the Middle East, Mediterranean, East Europe and Africa—Hugues Asseman—recently retired. With his departure, the iPhone maker is promoting its head of India Ashish Chowdhary, who reported to Asseman. Chowdhary will now report directly to Michael Fenger, Apple’s head of product sales.

The company posted record revenue in India last quarter, even as its total sales slipped 5 percent. Apple has created an online store to serve the region and is planning to open its first retail outlets in the country later this year.

On the last earnings call, chief executive officer Tim Cook said the company is putting “a lot of emphasis on the market" and compared the current state of its work in India to its early years in China.

“We are, in essence, taking what we learned in China years ago and how we scale to China and bringing that to bear," he said. China currently generates roughly $75 billion a year for Apple, making it the company’s biggest sales region after the Americas and Europe.

In addition to serving as a sales engine for Apple, India is also becoming more critical to the company’s product development. Key suppliers are moving to the region, and Apple is working with manufacturing partner Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., also known as Foxconn. to set up new iPhone production facilities in the country, Bloomberg News had reported

Recently, Apple and its manufacturing partner Foxconn lobbied Karnataka to significantly liberalise its labour law rules. This landmark legislation led to changes that allow for 12-hour shifts and night-time work for women, which is similar to the companies’ practices in China, reported Financial Times while citing sources familiar with the matter.

This new law provides one of the most flexible working regimes in India, where the country is aiming to become a new manufacturing base, following months of COVID-19 disruption that has impacted global supply chains.

The state passed an amendment to its application of the factories act, which now allows for 12-hour shifts, and the easing of rules for night-time work for women. The legislation increases the number of allowable overtime hours to 145 over a three-month period, up from 75, and caps maximum working hours at 48 per week.

Meanwhile, last year in November, Telecom and IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw had also said that India is set to get the biggest Apple iPhone manufacturing unit in Hosur in Bengaluru. He had also said that the biggest iPhone manufacturing unit would also employ 60,000 people.

(With inputs from agencies)