Tata Electronics is all set to hire over 20,000 workers for its new iPhone assembly plant in Hosur, which will increase the total workforce at the facility to 40,000. N. Chandrasekaran, Chairman of Tata Sons, announced on Saturday during the groundbreaking ceremony for a Rs 9,000 crore manufacturing unit by Tata Motors and Jaguar Land Rover in Panapakkam, Tamil Nadu. Currently, the Tata Group employs more than 150,000 people across Tamil Nadu, including its subsidiaries like TCS, Titan, Tata Chemicals, Tata Power, IHCL, and various retail operations.
“In the last three years, we have set up a modern electronics factory in Hosur, Krishnagiri. Currently, 20,000 people are employed there, and more than 15,000 of them are women. In another year, 40,000 people will be employed there, doubling the workforce in that facility," Chandrasekaran said, according to a report from Business Standard.
He also noted that, in addition to the 150,000 direct employees, many more lakhs of individuals rely on the broader ecosystem created by the company.
“This is not just another factory. This is a modern, state-of-the-art factory that will produce very high-end vehicles. For the first time, this new modern platform will be developed by Tata Motors and JLR together. Once fully operational, it will create 5,000 direct jobs and will foster an entire ecosystem in this region, generating many more jobs," he added.
This development coincides with Apple's aggressive push to expand its operations in India as it relocates parts of its supply chain from China. Currently, one in every seven iPhones is manufactured in India, and Apple is also sourcing components locally to support this production.
Meanwhile, in the last three years, Tata Group has invested in three major manufacturing units in Tamil Nadu—Tata Power, Tata Electronics, and Tata Motors. It has also invested Rs 2,200 crore in the industrial training institutes of Tamil Nadu to skill the youth.