Garima Ranjan, Pune
Pegatron, an Apple supplier set up in Chennai, has instructed its factory workers not to come to work on Tuesday, suspending iPhone assembly for a second consecutive day at its factory in southern India. This decision comes after a fire broke out on Sunday, according to three sources familiar with the situation. The assembly line in India holds a lot of significance because this promotes Indian manufacturing capacity and establishes a base for other big companies like Apple to set up their units. It has significance attached also in terms of the belief a company can hold for India.
The sources mentioned that workers were not given a specific reason for this directive. On Monday, Pegatron had already canceled all shifts at the factory near Chennai in Tamil Nadu state due to the fire incident. The company had previously stated that the incident, described as a “spark incident,” was under control and would not have a significant financial or operational impact.
The facility has a daily production capacity of around 26,000 iPhones, but it has been producing approximately 8,000-12,000 iPhones daily in recent months, as per an industry source. Pegatron declined to comment on this production estimate, and Apple did not respond to requests for comment.
Local emergency response officials had to deploy multiple fire engines from various stations to extinguish the fire, a process that took nearly five hours. Big industries have a lot of consumer demand, and meeting them in a stipulated time frame is very important. A delay of a couple of days can also cause losses. Stocks also depend highly on such events.
Apple needs more safety measures in place to avoid such incidents in the future. India is proud to become the facilitator and an assembly unit, but to keep up with industry standards, more checks and measures should be in place.
Make in India and initiatives like these need a very strong hold that can accommodate issues and have production in place most of the time. India is proud to have units in the country and will continue to thrive to a better working environment.