Foxconn to invest Rs 15,000 crore in Tamil Nadu

Chennai: Taiwanese electronics major Foxconn will invest Rs 15,000 crore in Tamil Nadu, where it already assembles high-end Apple iPhones, to shift its focus from electronics manufacturing services (EMS) to value-added manufacturing and research and development (R&D) integration. 

In a statement, the Tamil Nadu government said a delegation led by Foxconn’s India representative Robert Wu met Chief Minister M K Stalin on Monday and reaffirmed the company’s commitment to the state. 

The company’s Sunguvarchatiram plant, which assembles both Android phones and high-end devices of Apple Inc in separate buildings, employs over 44,000 people, predominantly women, making the facility the largest outside China. 

“During the meeting, Foxconn announced a major investment commitment of Rs 15,000 crore in Tamil Nadu and creation of 14,000 new jobs, with a special focus on engineering graduates and highly skilled youth, signalling Foxconn’s shift towards value-added manufacturing, R&D integration, and technology-led operations in Tamil Nadu,” the statement added.

The statement also said the first-ever Foxconn Desk in India will be established at Guidance Tamil Nadu, the state government’s investment arm to ensure faster coordination, investor facilitation, and mission-mode engagement across projects.

Robert Wu said Tamil Nadu’s infrastructure readiness, ease of doing business reforms, and future-focused policy leadership make it a preferred destination for Foxconn’s next phase of growth in India, including strategic verticals such as battery technologies and AI-led manufacturing systems, the statement added. 

Sources said the investment will be towards moving up the value chain, including manufacturing components that go into smartphones. 

Besides the Sunguvarchatiram facility, Foxconn’s group company, Yuzhan Technology (India) Pvt. Ltd, is building an unit at the ESR Industrial Park in Oragadam near Sriperumbudur to manufacture electronics components.

Key electronics components being made in India will come as a big boost to the electronics ecosystem in Tamil Nadu which is home to almost all key suppliers of Apple like Pegatron, Salcomp, Tata Electronics, who already have massive production units.

A statement from Foxconn said the company's newly appointed India Representative, Robert Wu, had an exchange with Tamil Nadu CMO and his team. "During the meeting, no new investments were discussed," the statement added.