Riddled with occupational hazard, iPhone units may shift from China to Bengaluru, Tamil Nadu

By Rajiv Shah 

Top multinational corporations appear to be apprehensive: US president-elect Donald Trump may put additional tariffs on goods manufactured in China mainland, even if their headquarters are based in Taiwan, Japan or the US. Hence, they are considering relocating their units from China to several countries, including Thailand and India.
A New York Times link, forwarded to Counterview by the Occupational and Environmental Health Network of India (OEHNI), points out that Foxconn has “spent hundreds of millions of dollars on land and equipment for factories to make iPhones in Bangalore and Tamil Nadu in India and to make artificial intelligence servers in Jalisco in Mexico.” Further, “On December 11, the government of Thailand approved a Foxconn subsidiary’s $300 million investment to make parts and equipment for its computer chip business.”
It comments, “Foxconn’s moves are emblematic of how MNCs, particularly in Asia, have tried to restructure supply chains and relocate manufacturing operations in the years since Trump initiated a trade war with China during his first term in office. Manufacturers hope that having more production elsewhere will take the sting out of the next round of tariffs Trump has promised.”
While the top Indian health right NGO gives no reason why it forwarded the NYT link, it may because MNCs shifting shop from China to India would possibly also mean bringing with them occupational hazards associated with them during their operations in China. Foxconn, with headquarters in Taiwan, is known to have been criticised for making workers work for 20 consecutive days with only one day off in its units in China.
Says China Labour Bulletin (CLB), citing the instance of a unit in Central Chinese province of Henan, “Several videos shared online by Foxconn workers in Zhengzhou, Henan province, depict workers fainting due to long hours of overtime work in October. Given the demanding schedules, workers asked, ‘Who can endure 20 consecutive days of night shifts without any rest?’”
CLB notes, “On 8 October, a video on Douyin described a female worker being taken to the hospital after days of night work. Three days later, another video reported that two workers fainted in the F area of the Foxconn facility. Additionally, a video uploaded on October 12 reported another incident of a worker fainting in a workshop.”
Notes the labour rights site, “Foxconn factories in Henan have significantly extended working hours following the release of the new iPhone models, leading many workers to believe this contributed to recent fainting incidents. A labour contractor on Douyin mentioned that the production lines for the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max would continue operating on Saturdays and Sundays, resulting in workers facing 20 consecutive workdays before receiving a single day off.”
It continues, “While the extended workweek promised higher pay, employees reported that the reduction in rest days made their work more physically demanding and pushed them to their limits”, adding, “Similar arrangements for longer working hours were also reported at Foxconn factories in Shenzhen”, whose worker is quoted as saying, “I work for 20 days straight and then have one day off, and I am finding it difficult to manage the day shift.”

“Additionally”, says CNB, “the overtime hours under Foxconn's schedule significantly exceed the legal limits. Accounts from multiple workers indicate that many worked over 300 hours in October, with overtime ranging from 125 to over 150 hours. This overtime is nearly four times greater than what Article 41 of the Labour Law allows, which stipulates that total overtime in a month should not exceed 36 hours.”

It continues, “In an extreme case, a worker reported working 30 days in October with only one day off. This worker not only worked on scheduled rest days but also had a minimum daily working time of 10.5 hours, which surpasses the legally permitted working hours. The relatively low average hourly wage of around 25.6 yuan significantly pushes workers to work excessively long hours.”
According to NYT, as of today, Foxconn – a giant Taiwanese electronics manufacturer – produces “a significant share of the world’s consumer electronics at its factories in central China. It has long assembled iPhones for Apple and says it makes almost half of all computer servers that power artificial intelligence systems.” However, now it is working overtime, “spending millions of dollars” to build up “its operations around the world to lessen its dependence on China.” It is “building factories in India and Mexico and investing hundreds of millions of dollars in Thailand.”
Foxconn produces a significant share of the world’s consumer electronics at its factories in central China. It has long assembled iPhones for Apple and says it makes almost half of all computer servers that power artificial intelligence systems. However, the MNC is spending “millions of dollars” to lessen its “dependence on China.”
And because president-elect Donald Trump has “promised to impose tariffs on goods imported from China and elsewhere on his first day in office next month”, Foxconn is now “preparing for this possibility”, taking into account what he did during his first term. The daily quotes Young Liu, Foxconn’s chairman, as saying the company’s growing global footprint would help to insulate it against Trump’s expected tariffs.”