Foxconn scales up Bengaluru factory with 30,000 hires in under a year

Foxconn, Apple’s largest contract manufacturer, has hired nearly 30,000 workers at its new iPhone manufacturing facility in Bengaluru, marking one of the fastest workforce ramp-ups by any factory in India, according to a report by The Economic Times.

The recruitment, completed within an eight-to-nine-month period, underscores Apple Inc’s accelerating shift away from China as it deepens manufacturing operations in India.

The Bengaluru unit, located in Devanahalli, is spread across 300 acres and is notable for its women-led workforce, with nearly 80% of employees being women. Most workers are first-time job seekers aged 19–24 years. Once fully operational, the facility has the potential to employ up to 50,000 people, surpassing Foxconn’s older iPhone plant in Tamil Nadu, which currently employs around 41,000 workers.

Foxconn began trial production in April–May with the iPhone 16 and has since moved to manufacturing iPhone 17 Pro Max models at the site. The company has planned an investment of around Rs 20,000 crore in the Karnataka facility, which is expected to become India’s largest factory in terms of both production capacity and employment.

The scale-up comes as Apple posted its highest-ever monthly export figures from India, shipping iPhones worth nearly $2 billion in November. Despite the rapid expansion, India accounted for just over 2% of Apple’s $416.1 billion global revenue in FY25.

Regionally, the Americas remained Apple’s largest market in FY25, generating $178.4 billion, or nearly 43% of global revenue, followed by Europe at 26.7%, while Greater China contributed 15.4%.