Apple and Foxconn secure labor law relaxation in India
Apple and its manufacturing partner Foxconn have succeeded in winning more liberal labor laws in the Indian state of Karnataka. Legislation now allows 12-hour shifts and night work for women, similar to what is done in China, reports the FinancialTimes.
Other changes include capping weekly working time at 48 hours, capping overtime at 48 hours per week, and increasing the number of overtime hours allowed per three-month period (145 hours now versus 75 hours ago).
Both Foxconn and Apple have been scrambling to move production of the devices from China, amid Covid-19-related factory shutdowns last year and growing disagreements between the United States and China. In December, Apple considered moving some iPad production to India to further diversify from China.
The transition to increased production in India, however, has not been smooth. Last month, we learned that the rejection rate for iPhone cases produced by an Indian company was 50%. Thus, only one out of two components coming off the production line is in good enough condition to be sent for assembly at Foxconn. This 50% yield is particularly low for most production operations and goes against Apple’s zero-defect manufacturing and environmental goals.
