iPhone maker Foxconn says it is focusing on promoting female employees in India to leadership roles, particularly in design and technology. This development comes weeks after there were some serious allegations against the company's hiring policies in some of its Indian offices. The company's chief executive officer, Young Liu, stressed the importance of providing women with more opportunities beyond traditional assembly jobs.
According to a report by PTI, Liu stressed that many of Foxconn's employees in India are highly skilled and that the company wants to help them advance to more challenging and rewarding positions. “We see not only the assembly work for women, but also some design and technology positions,” Liu said. He added that Foxconn wants to give its female employees “more opportunities to improve their position.”
In India, Foxconn employs around 48,000 people, 70 percent of whom are women. A significant portion of these women are new hires, and 25 percent of them are married. To support this workforce, the company recently opened a women-only housing complex near Chennai that can accommodate over 18,000 employees.
Foxconn is also expanding its operations in India. With an investment of Rs 25,000 crore, the company is building its second largest mobile phone manufacturing factory outside China in Karnataka. This new factory is expected to create 40,000 jobs.
Future plans in India
Foxconn is not just focusing on manufacturing. The company is exploring new projects in India, including a possible battery storage facility in Tamil Nadu to support electric vehicles. In addition, Foxconn is working on building a semiconductor factory and starting electric vehicle production in India.
Liu mentioned that the company's “information and communications technology segment has just started in India” and Foxconn is looking forward to pushing forward its “3+3 strategy,” which involves expanding business in three key industries: electric vehicles, digital health and robotics.