Sambhavi Gautam
Taiwan-based Foxconn, Apple’s largest contract manufacturer, has hired nearly 30,000 workers within eight to nine months at its new iPhone assembly facility in Devanahalli near Bengaluru, marking the fastest factory ramp-up in India to date. The rapid expansion underscores Apple’s accelerating efforts to diversify its manufacturing base beyond China, The Economic Times reported on December 22, 2025, citing people familiar with the matter.
A Workforce Led by Young Women
Spread across 300 acres, the facility is predominantly staffed by women, who account for about 80 percent of the workforce. Most employees are first-time job seekers aged between 19 and 24. The factory began test production in April–May with iPhone 16 models and is currently assembling the latest iPhone 17 Pro Max, one of the people said. More than 80 percent of the output is exported, according to the report.
From Assembly Lines to a Mini Township
At peak capacity next year, the plant is expected to employ up to 50,000 workers, potentially making it the largest single factory in India by workforce size. The site currently operates around four iPhone assembly lines, with plans to scale up to nearly a dozen. The production floor spans close to 250,000 sq ft.
What makes this unit distinct is not just scale, but design. Foxconn is building what officials describe as a “mini township” around the factory. The campus includes six large dormitories for women, free accommodation, subsidized food, medical facilities, planned schools, and recreational spaces, all within the premises.
According to various estimates cited in the report, workers earn an average monthly salary of around Rs 18,000, in addition to housing and food, placing it among the better-paying blue-collar opportunities for women in India. The project involves an investment of about Rs 20,000 crore and is set to eclipse Foxconn’s older iPhone facility in Tamil Nadu, which employs roughly 41,000 people.
Skill-Building at the Core
Inside the factory, the focus is clearly on building skills and not just assembling phones. Apple works closely with Foxconn to train new hires through six-week, hands-on programmes, mainly bringing in young women who have finished high school or polytechnic courses. At the same time, Apple has quietly grown its Indian supplier network to nearly 45 local companies, so more parts of the iPhone are now made and assembled within the country.
A Landmark Outcome of India’s PLI Scheme
Government officials quoted in the report see this project as one of the strongest results of India’s Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme, launched in 2021 to push large-scale manufacturing. “Apple’s operations in India are a shining example of government-industry partnership,” one official noted, adding that the speed and scale of expansion would have been “unimaginable” just four years ago.
Beyond Manufacturing: A Social Shift at Scale
Beyond policy and exports, the social impact is hard to ignore. With the planned expansion next year, the Bengaluru unit is expected to house more women workers in a single location than any other public or private employer in India. It has also drawn migrant women from neighbouring districts of Karnataka, offering financial independence, safe housing, and long-term employment in a sector traditionally out of reach.
This women-led factory is not being positioned as a social experiment—and that may be its strongest statement. It is simply manufacturing at scale, meeting global demand, and placing young women at the centre of India’s industrial growth story.
