A massive fire broke out at Apple’s original supplier in India, Foxlink’s installation on Monday. The Foxlink assembly installation in the Southern state of Andhra Pradesh has stopped production and vacated 400 of its workers after a massive fire, two original government officers were quoted as saying by news agency Reuters. Foxlink makes lines for iPhones and the damage due to the massive fire at the unit has been estimated to be of Rs 100 crore, but there were no casualties.
The product at the installation has been halted. Foxlink is a Taiwanese major that manufactures lines for iPhones. The company began manufacturing string and connectors in India in late 2020 and also laid the foundation gravestone of another unit in Tirupati last time. Curiously, the fire erupted weeks after principal administrative officer (CEO) Tim Cook said that the company was bullish about India. The incident also comes in the background of Apple moving its product down from China to diversify its product capabilities. The last many times have seen Apple fleetly spanning its product capabilities in India. Not just iPhones, Apple has also begun manufacturing AirPods in the country.
It also plans to make MacBooks in India. Buoyed by original subsidies in the form of product- Linked- impulses (PLIs), Apple has been looking to gauge its product in the country. The original outfit manufacturer (OEM) reportedly exported $ 1 Bn worth of smartphones from India in just December 2022 alone. The business impact on Apple wasn’t incontinently clear and the root cause of the incident was unknown. Apple didn’t incontinently respond to a request for comment. A functionary for Foxlink didn’t respond to calls seeking comment. The fire is now under control and there were no casualties, said Ramanaiah. He showed Reuters prints and videos of the plant blaze with charred ministry inside the factory and groups of firefighters trying to douse the fire. The vids and prints showed huge bank awards rising from the factory.