It is no secret that the GAFAM, to which Apple belongs, have a great power of seduction over the public authorities. The Cupertino company has just demonstrated it once again.
Forced to abandon China in order to escape a business climate that is no longer very favorable, Apple has probably set its sights on India. Indeed, Bharat should be the main beneficiary of the relocation policy launched by the multinational a few months ago. And to avoid having to deal with future labor rights complaints, Apple has literally changed the law in its favor thanks to the invaluable help of its longtime partner, Foxconn.
The state of Karnataka forced to comply with the demands of Apple and Foxconn
In recent years, Apple has exploded its budget allocated to lobbying bodies of different audiences. It must be admitted that this is a rather profitable investment. Thanks to this power of persuasion, Apple succeeded in putting pressure on the authorities of the State of Karnataka so that they carry out a broader reform of the Labor Code.
Now, the new state legislation is aligned with that of China and now allows 12-hour days and night work for women. It is undoubtedly a real tour de force of Apple. Since Foxconn said it wanted to expand its production lines in India, this detail was a brake on the project. This is now a solved problem.
According to the Financial Times, this reform will apply to the whole state. Apple and Foxconn are building a new assembly plant there, for various iPhone models, which covers 1,214,058 m². It is also a strong signal launched by India and the State of Karnataka for companies wishing to diversify their production chains outside of China.
Since Apple turned to other horizons, India has openly positioned itself as an alternative and a credible partner.
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Apple had to make big promises to get its reform
One can easily assume that this concession made by the State of Karnataka to Apple and Foxconn is not without consideration. Indeed, and in fact, Apple would have made some promises.
This is particularly the case with regard to the number of jobs that the American firm could create. Despite being a world power, India remains a small among the big with a large part of its population living below the poverty line.
The arrival of Apple in the state of Karnataka is expected to generate up to 100,000 jobs for peak iPhone production. This will surely not be enough to exceed the approximately 200,000 workers at the “iPhone city” factory in Zhengzhou, China. Nevertheless, it is certainly a giant step that will make a mark.
This win-win partnership confirms the conclusions of one of the two Bloomberg articles reported yesterday by BGR. The article in question showed that the Cupertino company has made India its own region for its sales operations.
According to Mark Gurman, Apple should also soon promote Ashish Chowdhary AS, the one who is none other than the current brand manager in India. At the stage where things are, everything indicates that we are not immune to other important announcements on this economic deal.
Source : bgr