India: iPhone assembly halted at Apple's Pegatron plant in Chennai after fire
Pegatron Apple
Assembly of Apple's flagship iPhone devices was halted at its Chennai facility in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu after a fire incident on Sunday (September 24) night.Apple supplier Pegatron, which runs the facility, was forced to cancel the first two shifts of the new week, Reuters news agency reported.
The Taiwanese firm is yet to inform assembly workers whether they will be called in to operate the third shift of the day or not. In a statement to Reuters, Pegatron confirmed "there was a spark incident" which is currently under control, adding that theincident "does not have significant financial or operational impact" for the company.
"There are no injuries, no casualties nor damage to other assets. The cause of the accident is currently under investigation by (the) relevant authority," Pegatron said.
Notably, Pegatron started assembling iPhones in India in September last year. Buoyed by the success of the plant, the company is in talks to open a second Indian facility for Apple near the current one in Tamil Nadu.
Watch |Apple to scale up India production to $40 billion
Apple betting big on India
Apple has been betting big on India to expand its market. It started iPhone assembly in the country, way back in 2017 via Wistron and later Foxconn.
According to reports, the Cupertino-based company is planning toexpand its investment in the country to approximately $40 billion over the next four to five years.
The company is looking to expand its horizon beyond the current iPhone manufacturing andassembling operations. The company now intends tobegin the production of Airpods in the coming year. However, there are currently no immediate plans to manufacture iPads or laptops within India.
Apple's commitment to India is evident in its recent product launches. On September 22, 2023, Apple introduced the highly anticipated iPhone 15 series, featuring the iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro, and iPhone 15 Pro Max, which hit stores in India and various other countries simultaneously.
Remarkably, Apple released the India-built iPhone 15 models on the same day they became available worldwide, underscoring India's importance in Apple's global production and distribution network.
(With inputs from agencies)
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