Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a meeting with Foxconn Chairman Young Liu to discuss the company's investment strategies on Wednesday. This meeting took place shortly after New Delhi initiated an investigation into potential discriminatory hiring practices at a Foxconn facility, following a report by Reuters. During the meeting, Modi emphasized the numerous opportunities available in cutting-edge sectors in India to Liu, as shared in a post on X accompanied by images of the two leaders.
Modi also mentioned fruitful discussions regarding Foxconn's investment plans in Indian states such as Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Andhra Pradesh. He views Foxconn's iPhone manufacturing plant in India and Apple's expansion of its supply chain in South Asia, beyond China, as pivotal in aiding India's ascent in the global economic hierarchy. A Reuters investigation in June revealed that Foxconn had excluded married women from assembly roles at its major iPhone plant in Tamil Nadu. Foxconn admitted to certain shortcomings in its hiring practices in 2022 and claimed to have rectified these issues, while strongly denying allegations of employment discrimination.
In recent years, Taiwan-based Foxconn has expanded its operations in India, producing iPhones and other smartphone products, with plans to venture into AirPods and semiconductor manufacturing. However, Foxconn withdrew from a $19.5 billion semiconductor joint venture with Indian conglomerate Vedanta in July last year, which was a blow to Modi's ambitions for semiconductor manufacturing in India. The Indian government directed Tamil Nadu to submit a comprehensive report, and officials visited the Foxconn factory to interrogate executives about their hiring practices, although no findings have been publicly released. Modi's post on X on Wednesday did not touch upon these issues, and the Prime Minister's Office did not respond promptly to an email inquiring about the details of the talks.
