iPhone Manufacturer Wistron Reportedly Plans to Wind Up Its Operations in India

Amid Apple opening up two stores in India and news of it ramping up production in the country, there are reports that Taiwanese iPhone manufacturer Wistron has plans to wind up its operations in India.

Wistron's largest manufacturing unit in India is located in Karnataka and is reportedly going to be taken over by Tata Electronics.

The report further added that Wistron will approach the National Company Law Tribunal and the Registrar of Companies to wind down the company within the coming year, once the Tata takeover has been completed.

Apple recently opened up two stores in India and there have been reports that the company plans to increase the manufacture of its products in the country.

Market research firm Counterpoint Research recently revealed that Apple's made-in-India iPhones had a 162 percent year-on-year growth in terms of shipments in 2022.

So despite Apple's plans of doubling down on manufacture and production in India, Wistron's decision to shut shop comes after much controversy.

In 2020, there was news of workers violently protesting against low wages and the company's malpractices at its Bengaluru factory, which caused about $7 million worth of damages at the site. Apple paused operations with Wistron amid the unrest but revived it after a while.

Wistron's Bengaluru facility started in the year 2008 as a sales and maintenance service center called "ICT Service Management Solutions (India) Private Limited". The unit started manufacturing iPhones in India in 2017.

Since then, Wistron has been one of the three Taiwanese iPhone manufacturers in India alongside Foxconn and Pegatron Corp. While Foxconn is the largest manufacturer of iPhones in India, Wistron currently manufactures the iPhone 14 and the iPhone 12 models.

The 44-acre manufacturing unit has eight assembly lines and about 12,000 employees. Wistron has another unit for the repair and maintenance of Apple devices which will continue to function in India.

Tata, on the other hand, has been making several efforts at increasing its business with Apple. The company already produces iPhone components at a factory in Hosur, Bengaluru, and is said to have hired more staff for ramping up production. It also plans to launch 100 exclusive Apple stores in the country.