In a significant move reported by the Economic Times, Apple unveils plans to fortify its presence in India by ramping up its workforce to an impressive 500,000 employees over the course of three years. This ambitious initiative coincides with the company’s strategy to migrate half of its supply chain operations from China to India.
Central to this transition is Apple’s commitment to augmenting local value addition, with the aim of boosting domestic value addition from its current range of 11-12 percent to a projected 15-18 percent. Such a shift underscores Apple’s recognition of India’s burgeoning importance not only as a lucrative market but also as a potential epicenter for research and development endeavors.
While this move signifies a significant leap forward for Apple’s footprint in India, it also sheds light on the stark disparity between India’s current capabilities and those of its neighbor, China. Presently, India’s local value addition stands at a modest 14 percent, a stark contrast to China’s robust 41 percent.
However, with Apple’s strategic pivot towards India, there’s anticipation that the country will witness a surge in technological investments and advancements, potentially closing the gap with China in terms of local value addition. This shift not only signals a seismic change in Apple’s global supply chain dynamics but also underscores India’s increasing prominence in the global tech landscape.