New Delhi: An agreement for Tata Group to purchase a significant factory belonging to an Apple Inc. supplier is about to be finalized. According to a report, the deal might be completed as soon as August 2023. This initiative, if successful, would be a historic turning point because it would be the first time a local Indian business entered the iPhone assembly market.
The Wistron factory in the Southern state of Karnataka is the object of Tata’s acquisition. The deal, which has a value of over $600 million, is the outcome of discussions that lasted for about a year, according to the article. The manufacturing facility is well-known for producing the iPhone 14 model. It currently has a workforce of more than 10000 people. According to the article, Wistron has agreed to deliver $1.8 billion worth of iPhones to Apple by March 2024. The iPhone manufacturer also pledged to treble the number of factory employees by the following year.
According to the article, once the purchase is completed, Tata Group would fulfil these pledges. Due to its low scale compared to global behemoths like Foxconn and Pegatron, Wistron had trouble negotiating better margins with Apple. Despite being involved in the assembly of iPhones, Wistron faced difficulties with inventory control, which more prominent vendors were better able to manage.
Wistron’s difficulties were further exacerbated by inefficient methods for estimating demand and distributing goods to various units. It’s smaller size and managerial problems hampered the company’s inability to handle these difficulties appropriately. Additionally, cultural barriers between China and India made it difficult for Wriston to keep employees on board, which led to a high turnover rate at its Kolar, India, factory.
With the opening of a repair facility for numerous gadgets in 2008, Wistron officially entered the Indian market. The business increased its operations in 2017 and began producing iPhones for apple.
